No denying it
by AngelOfOurDarkness
Summary: AU. A cold, a strict system and his mother is what brought them together. The question is if they can become closer with a booklet as help. ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1

**No denying it**

"_What have we learned today, Sakura?" "That you are very good at biology."_

Why the hell had she been showed this dreadful path? Why had she been the one to receive the punishment, she, who was completely innocent? Why was never the bad guys the ones who took the consequences?

But of course, it was not the time to complain, she had something to focus on. She had to clean her brain shiny clean from anything that might disturb her. She had to remember every little thing she had read the latest week. But fortunately she had Uchiha-sensei, her favorite teacher, who happened to give a bit to obvious hints sometimes.

So, now when she stood by the teachers office she felt her heartbeat go down drastically as she let her knuckles tap against the white door. A light mumble was heard before the door opened and a black haired woman opened the door.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! You're going to do the test now, and have your extra hour, right?" Mikoto-sensei smiled.

"Yes, I am," Sakura said, smiling back. Extra hours, after school or during free periods, was a system solely existent at Tokyo High School For the Gifted. If a student had ever been absent a whole day, or more, they had to take extra classes after school, even if they had been gone due to sickness. This was to show the school's superiority to the other high's, as well as discourage faked or unnecessary absence.

"Well, actually, I have to go to a conference at the city hall…" her teacher sounded almost ashamed of herself.

"Oh…Um…" the pink haired student really didn't know what to say, she didn't mind having the test another day, but she still wanted it over with.

"But it's ok! I asked Itachi to be with you, so don't worry!" Mikoto hurriedly exclaimed, pulling her bag over her shoulder.

"Who?" Sakura asked, how the hell would a weasel help her, or keep her under surveillance for that matter? Maybe all the science had finally taken it's toll on her mentor?

The forty years old woman who didn't look a day over twenty-five blinked a few times as she stopped the search for her car keys. "Oh yes, you haven't met my son, Itachi! I asked him to stand in for me today to 'guard' you, even if I find that hardly necessary. Oh, come on grumpy, don't be shy, Sakura-chan doesn't bite!" after a few enthusiastic (almost too enthusiastic) waves with her hand a tall man appeared behind her.

Sakura's heart, which she thought had calmed down by now, suddenly went into high production, while the mucous membrane in her mouth seemed to be on walkout. Her eyelids widened considerately and if she hadn't tensed like she did her chin would be laying on the floor. In front of her stood the most beautiful being she had ever seen.

Long lashes covered ruby eyes when he blinked, touching his cheeks slightly. High, pale cheekbones and a far too soft looking mouth together with a straight nose and thin eyebrows would have made his face look like that of a female if he had not possessed a strong jaw and an apathetic expression. With his total length he was over a head taller than his mother, and even more when compared to herself. He, just like his mother, looked like he was younger than his actual age, if he was around the twenty bar.

She really thought that he should have been listed pretty high in the list of The World's Sexiest Men.

All of a sudden she understood why Sasuke seemed to have the older brother's complex.

"Go to room 503 here on the second floor. Both of you know where it is, no?" Mikoto asked as she pulled out a rather thick booklet of her bag and handed it to Itachi.

He nodded obediently and accepted the papers.

"And make sure you return the spare keys to me before you go home to yourself, as well as locking up the front entrance, when you do so the alarm will activate and you won't be able to get in again, the ground keeper will check everything later, so don't worry, ok?" with a nervous look over her shoulder she saw his nod, and smiled.

"Well, I have to hurry now, good luck on the test, Sakura-chan!" she said and started walking down the corridor towards the stairs.

An awkward silence filled the air in between the two left behind. They both waited for the clicking sound of high heels to fade away and the echoing of the door snapping shut. Sakura, who was rather social felt as if a muffler had been thrust down her throat.

Without a word he started walking, everything he did was to give her a slight look.

Hurrying after his long strides, trying hard to keep up with his long strides with her far shorter legs. She gripped the pencil and rubber in her hand hard, daring to raise her gaze from the floor. It was an action she regretted when she saw his long back and neck, with broad shoulders and muscles visible under the thin shirt he wore. Her head felt light and her saliva became strangely thick all of a sudden, strange, because it had not been there just a moment ago.

She obediently walked three steps behind him, as if she was his servant. Her head bent down again, she felt the need to say something, but decided against it when she couldn't find anything to utter that wouldn't make her sound all to desperate for some sort of contact.

_Physical contact is preferred__…_ Inner Sakura snickered, starting to ramble a list of reasons her statement was true before her outer personality could protest. _He is a man any male would go gay for. He is a man every girl wants--_

_I get it already, so shut up! But no, that was not what I meant!_ It had been a long time since she had a conversation with the far more perverted and impulsive person inside her head. And that is the exact reason why she didn't acknowledge the fact that her new custodian had already stopped and was glancing impassively at her.

"Haruno-san, where are you going?" with a twitch Sakura stopped, and turned, her mouth agape. She probably looked like a dead fish, but that could be allowed when you hear a voice that would be able to melt chocolate, literally. Even when she turned fully she couldn't find her voice.

"Ah…um…eh…I… I was repeating the building of the nervous system… Sorry…" she lowered her head to hide her blushing cheeks, afraid that he would be able to read what she really was thinking of on them if she didn't. She scurried past him inside the grand classroom. The leveled benches looked like they were towering over her, like they always did. She hated these kind of classrooms, they were…_frightening. _

Itachi moved to the teacher's desk and set down the business bag he had been holding. "Take a seat and I will give you the test," he demanded and started flipping though the papers his mother had given him.

Even if she knew nothing about this man she guessed he was some kind of authority, maybe in the police force--Sasuke had told her his family was very successful within the military, because this man was impossible too even think of saying no to. She could only hope he wasn't going to ask her to jump out the window, or to go drown herself in the hand basin.

She sat down closest to the middle aisle. Students were not allowed to sit by the window, as to not be disturbed nor achieve outside help. Same thing with the seats closest to the wall against the corridor. Yes, this high is a very strict place.

With a nervous sigh she watched the Uchiha walk against her, holding the papers plainly visibly to her. To her eyes his strides seemed very long and fast, and the sound of the papers being placed lightly before her sounded like big bang. Yes, this high has etched this feeling into its students.

"Good luck, Haruno-san." simple. Subtle. Ordinary. And so utterly encouraging.

Sakura had no idea getting such a daily phrase so many takes for granted could make her feel so confident about her own knowledge. No teacher ever said something like that, just quietly handing out the tests, only telling everyone the consequences of cheating.

Without being able to stop it a smile curled on her lips, and a red tint appeared on her face. With renewed belief in herself she turned the bunch of papers and started scribbling down the answers.

'_Describe the build of a neuron.'_

She could only imagine how Naruto would be panicking over this first question. If there was something he was absolutely, _horribly_ bad at it was to remember the names on parts of something. He could barely remember where the triceps and biceps were placed (in that test he wrote that it was the muscles in respective eye lid).

Naruto was her own little teddy bear. She took care of him in return of him taking care of her. Whenever she was in trouble he came to her rescue, no matter the risk, or his understanding in the matter. Even if he could become a little too (over)protective, especially whenever she was talking to a man he had not approved of. If she was ever caught doing so both that particular male and she herself would get a juicy lecture about 'the safety of _HIS_ Sakura-chan'. Truly annoying.

'_Describe the nervous system in bilateral animals.'_

She almost had to giggle at the thought of Sasuke wrinkling his nose. He abhorred insects, not allowing him to be good friends with the bug loving Shino. If you want to side with the black haired man you would have to squish any arthropod that cross your path, no matter how harmless the little creatures seems to be. He had explained it as a family trait, but he had not got it from his mother, she is after all a biology teacher, so he must have gotten it from his father.

With a slight glance through her lashes she peeked at Itachi, and wondered if he was frowning in panic whenever there was a fly in the room.

No, there was no possible way this man would be afraid of something so silly.

'_Explain the details of how reflexes work.'_

Before she had the chance to put her pen on the paper again she felt a sudden tingle in her nose. _Oh, please, no!_

But the catastrophe was a fact, and one sudden inhale later Sakura sneezed, _loudly_. The only thing she did to stop the sound was to raise her arm and put her elbow in front of her mouth. But it didn't dim the sound the slightest, it just hindered spit to fly all over the desk. The few fateful seconds after the horrible involuntary action she first tried to make herself believe that she wasn't guilty of such a thing, but quickly realized that she indeed was, and then looked up.

Her heart made a flippedy-flop jump and started running on high gear, because a pair of blazing red eyes were staring intently at her. Itachi had raised his head from the paperwork before him, and watched her curiously, as if there was some special reason to her sneezing. She expected him to say something, but he just sat quietly gluing his vision to her. That half minute that went by when they were just urging the other (or at least Sakura was) to say something, was half a minute Sakura was sure was the reddest in her life. She could only think of the clashing with her hair.

Finally, she gained the strength to open her mouth. "S-Sorry…" she mumbled and shifted uncomfortably on the chair as she directed her attention to the test once again. What she didn't notice was flaming ruby amusedly watching her squirming.

'_What areas of the body is especially sensitive to touch?'_

Oh no, just as her cheeks had calmed themselves down there just had to be an embarrassing question! Her face was once again on fire and her pen was to slow for her liking.

_The sex is sensitive__…_

_Hey, do you know how we can find out just _how_ sensitive they are?!_ Inner Sakura suddenly piped up, raising her eyebrows 'sneakily'.

_I don__'t want to know!_

_Oh yes you do! Just call that overly sexy man over here and when he's close enough pull his tie and kiss him silly, and then he won't be able to stop!_ the internal personality illustrated with poorly drawn pictures, and pouted with her mouth.

_He__'s not even wearing a tie! _Sakura peeked at the man sitting by the teacher's desk, just to prove the fact to her darker self.

_No need to be to picky!_

With a feeling of satisfaction she once again started scribbling, and turned a page, only to realize she was already at the last question.

'_Describe how the visual perception and the equilibrium co-operate to give one a sense of balance, and how they repel each other at times.'_

This was easy. Sakura always had a talent to explain how things were connected, and to see how these connections could be both to advantage and disadvantage. Her goal was to become a doctor, and her sitting headmaster was currently also boss at the Tokyo Medical University, and had high authority across the world as one of the most skilled medics who has ever walked on this earth, and having a recommendation written by her not only ensured a job, but was also a great honor.

Tsunade-sensei was an amazing woman, looked like twenty-five, but that is actually only half her age, and had been nominated to the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology trice, winning it once. But she was still a human, proved by her regular drinking habits and irresponsible nature. She rather spent her days with her head on the desk with closed eyelids, or with a bottle in hand, than to go rounds in the hospital or to sign paperwork.

Finally she could set the last dot at the end of the last sentence on her test. She didn't bother checking the four pages of answers, she was sure she was right, and if she did start flipping, she would just start hesitating. So after a few seconds of calm breaths she put the papers in order and raised her gaze.

And once more her heart made a painful bolt, and she quietly discussed to herself if she should be cursing or if singing hallelujah fitted the situation better.

By the desk Itachi was sitting, chin resting on his hand, blinking lazily as he watched her. It was as if he hadn't moved from that position since he had reacted to her sneeze. He went under the impression of a statue of a Greek god, pale skin, muscled body and perfect features.

"Um… I'm done, Uchiha-san…" she said lowly, smiling hesitantly.

He nodded, and got up, taking more papers with him. His controlled movement as he moved towards her were looking as if they were carefully thought out before they were made. Obediently she held the test up as he closed in, and automatically reached for the papers he was about to give her. Her gestures must've looked funny, because his mouth curved into a smirk.

"Eager for biology?" at his comment she raised an eyebrow and read the title on the booklet she was given. Immediately her skin from her neck and up to the roots of her hair became a tomato.

_Sexual Knowledge-Teenagers & Sex_

"I had no idea we were going to work with this!" Sakura exclaimed embarrassedly, frowning unpleasantly when his smirk widened.

"Of course not," Itachi said, his amusement blatantly obvious.

"I was going to say you're much nicer than the teachers, but I guess I was wrong," she grumbled, continuing to read the rest of the sheet.

"I am sorry for giving you the wrong impression," she gripped the pen harder at his _laughing_ voice. She had to hold hear breath and count to ten to keep herself from lashing out at him.

"Asshole…" she whispered inaudibly when he was by the teacher's desk again.

'_What is partialism?'_

Oh no. A word she had never heard before. And the only way to find out without her biology book is…too ask the teacher.

Her breath caught in her lungs, and her arms tensed. Her entire body became hot and she tried hard to swallow. Why? Why was she cursed with these kind of embarrassing situations?

"Um…Uchiha-san," she called to get his attention. He raised his gaze to her, "what is partialism?"

He stared at her for a few seconds, as if he had a hard time registering her question. "What do you find especially attractive about men?" he asked bluntly, not at all embarrassed or troubled.

"What?" Sakura cocked her head and stared strangely at him. Either he was teasing, flirting or actually trying to say something, but her faith in the last example was little.

"What do you find the most attractive when you look at a male body?" he clarified, or so he was supposed to be doing.

"Exactly why are you asking me that?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

"Just answer," he demanded.

With a deeper frown and an displeased grunt she did, "depends on the person, but the eyes normally."

"That is a partialism," he said, smirking when she tilted her head even more, "when you are sexually aroused by a particular part of the body. It's a fetish."

Sakura barely registered her jaw dropping, but a gasp flew in her lungs and her eyes widened. What the hell is with this man?! "Did you just say I have a fetish?!" she cried, "I doubt finding eyes attractive is outside the norm!"

"Of course not, all humans who are not castrated have partialism," he declared, and blinked, purposely letting his long lashes fall extra deep.

"Then what is yours?" at her sudden question (that was forced by Inner Sakura before the outer could stop her) he raised an eyebrow. "Uh…Sorry, I shouldn't--

"Eyes and lips," Itachi confessed confidently, lowering his eyelids as he continued to stare at her.

She blinked at him, shocked over the revelation, "oh…" After not finding anything other to say she returned to solving the questions on the paper. Only now she realized her heart was beating both faster and harder than usual, not like it had done so many times during this past hour, the sound really echoed in her head.

'_Explain the listed sexualities, a) Homosexuality, b) bisexuality…'_

Those two she knew exactly what they were, she had friends being both (or at least she suspected it), but there were many other sexualities, and she didn't know how to explain them, or what exactly they were. It was for these situations she needed her biology book, but to get it she had to walk past the teachers desk, and she had to have permission.

Biting her lip hesitantly she took a breath, "Uchiha-san, can I go get my biology book?" She asked as nicely and cutely as she could muster, which wasn't very much.

"I am afraid not," he said, still having his concentration on whatever document laying in front of him.

"Why not? I'm not doing the test anymore," she frowned, giving him a glare.

"Kaa-san told me especially to not let you outside this door until the hours are up," he said and raised his face, setting his pen down, "what is it that you need your book for?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, resisting the childish urge to stick out her tongue at him, "I'm supposed to describe different sexualities, and I can't do it properly without my book."

With a sigh, he stood up, "then I'll help you."

"What? Wait, no! I can do it on my own!" she protested, putting up her hands in a non-existing try to stop him.

He smirked as he set a hand on the desk, next to hers. "If you can do it by yourself you wouldn't need a book," he smirked triumphantly when she couldn't talk back without a good argument. That particular expression must be genetic, four Uchiha's had had it on their face so far.

Frowning and standing up to move a chair, she shuddered when the seat was much colder than her previous one. She could almost see his satisfaction when he sat down and felt the heat spread through his ass and body, and it pissed her off. "I've explained homo-, hetero- and bisexuality, it's the rest I don't know," she said, slightly disturbed by his closeness.

"Pansexuality is when a person is gender-blind. It does not matter what ever sex the other person may be, but they do not want to identify themselves as bisexuals, as bisexual only fall in love with men and women, not a third gender," he rambled as if he was reading it out of a book, and Sakura couldn't help but to gawk at him.

"Write it down," Itachi said, "so we can go on, you won't leave until you have finished this booklet."

"O-ok," she said and hurried to put every word he said on the paper.

"Asexuality is when you do not feel the need for sexual intercourse or desire," he said and very suspiciously leaned closer to his temporary student, careful not to let her notice his movements.

"Auto sexuality is when you are not interested in sex with another person, but you use toys and other means to masturbate," for some reason his voice seemed closer, but Sakura didn't dare to look up.

"Polysexuality is similar to pansexuality, but as pan means all, poly means many, they are different. Polysexuals are capable to fall in love with many genders, not necessarily all," he sounded so sure, but all this talk about several genders only confused her.

"Does homosexuality occur among animals?" she asked, even if she knew the answer.

"It does," Itachi said.

"Is it possible to have an orgasm by just kissing?" the words flowed out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"You want to find out?" now she could feel his breath against her ear, and she snapped her head to stare at him, and she had to stop herself from gasping. He was only inches away, and he was smirking. Smirking Uchiha's never meant anything good. Not once in her life had it been benefiting for anyone else than themselves. And she didn't even want to imagine exactly why his face was getting even closer.

Her heart started racing, and she felt his breath on her lips, and panicked. Frantically looking around to find a way out of this mess she found nothing, and in pure desperation her hands flew up and pushed against his shoulders, but she didn't know he would be so…robust, and let out a scream when she fell backwards.

With a dull crash she landed on the ground, mewling as she arched her back when she felt sharp pain in her tailbone. "Ow…" she complained and opened her eyelids, glaring up at her teacher's son. "What the hell was that for?!" she yelled at him, struggling to get up in a sitting position. She glared accusingly at him as she tried to get control over her body. It was only when she had succeeded in getting her legs beneath herself she noticed his red, fixated stare on her lower half, and was terrified when she saw her skirt. It was revealing more skin than any other man had ever seen.

She was sure her entire body must look like a tomato, because she was becoming hot all over. She stood up hurriedly, pulling her skirt down in the process, and placed her feet far apart to look intimidating, failing so miserably she might as well have been a white bunny. "Why the hell did you try to kiss me?!" she pointed at him, hearing her inner persona crying out in despair and complaining about why they didn't take the chance and kiss that beautiful man.

Quietly he bent down and picked up the chair that had been thrown down with her. "Didn't I tell you? I fancy lips, and I find yours irresistible. And surely you wouldn't deny my wish to see if they feel as good as they look?" his voice was husky, as if he had just recovered from running a marathon. She caught her legs going weak when he talked, and she actually had to grip the table to keep herself steady.

She was gaping like a fish out of water, and she probably looked like one too, breathing heavier than necessary. She couldn't find an answer, even if it should be obvious, she couldn't bring herself to reject him, for some absurd reason. She noticed him take a step forward, and she should be screaming at him to not get closer, but her voice didn't obey her.

"U-Uchiha-san--

At her weak attempt to speak he grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him. "I don't listen to that name, Haruno-san," he smirked, towering above her, as if she was a kid.

She glared at him and trembled when his arm came up to wrap around her waist. The fact that she couldn't fight him off scared her, more than the assumption about not succeeding even if she tried.

"If you say my name I might listen to your request, Haruno-san," he whispered against her ear, and Sakura was sure he could feel her shivering. It felt good to have him so close, and his fanning breath had her head go dizzy and all reasonable thoughts fly out the window.

"S-say my name," her lips trembled as she forced them to form the shape she wanted them to, "Itachi."

She could feel his smirk against her temple, and she knew she shouldn't have asked for _that_, but the temptation was far to strong for her to resist. She wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if she didn't get to know how her name sounded coming from his throat.

"Is that your only request, _Sakura_?"

Oh screw it, she wouldn't be able to sleep now anyway!

She wondered how the hell it was possible for a _voice_ to make her feel so good. She let her eyes roll to the back of her head and couldn't stop the breathy moan escaping her lungs. She didn't know if it was her own heart or his that skipped a beat, but the next thing she knew for certain was that she had her back pressed against the desk, and her arms were pinned to the white painted wood.

Her green gaze stared up at shining rubies. He looked strained, and as he let his fingers comb through her long bangs he breathed out, frowning. "If you don't want me to do something to you, _do not _make that kind of sound," he leaned down towards her, his dark hair touching her face.

His digits stroke her cheek, slowly drawing a line to her collar bones. Her inhales intensified, and she barely found the time to exhale, causing her to become lightheaded, and her self-control slipped and she arched her neck, uttering a throaty moan. She felt him stiffening against her, and with a frustrated groan he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Didn't I tell you to not do that?" he asked her, closer to her than ever before.

"Stop sending me opposite messages! It's hard not to when you keep on touching me!" she squealed angrily, challenging him with her glare.

"I don't hear you protesting," he said, tightening his grip on her.

"Then why do keep on saying 'if you don't want to'?!" she asked him harshly, and it took a few moments of calming down before she realized exactly what she said.

Her eyes widened when she felt something warm on her pair of lips, and realized it was his. His orbs were hidden by half behind his lids, and an almost relaxed twinkle shone in them. Her other hand was released when he dug his fingers into her hair as he massaged his lips against hers. Not finding any good reason to fight his ministrations she closed her eyes and let her get swept deep down in the dark ocean of pleasure he was offering her.

Seeing her co-operation, Itachi angled his head to deepen the kiss. At his actions Sakura was powerless to stop him, or her own reactions. Her satisfied sighs got deeper by the minute, and after not too long she was moaning. At the pleasured noises her black haired counterpart smirked, and parted his lips to tap at hers.

Immediately knowing what he wanted (thanks to uncountable descriptions from Ino), she granted him entrance to her mouth, opening slightly to let him in. She felt the tip search the ceiling of her mouth, and stroke along her teeth, sending shivers down her spine. Soon he swirled his tongue around hers, urging her to play with him.

Uncertainly she let her muscle get lead by his. He gently tapped the tip against hers, nicely being still while she tried to master the movement of swirling her tongue against his. She mewled miserably when he withdrew to his own cavern, and she nervously searched the line of his lips and teeth. Suddenly she felt as if he was going away from her and automatically she threw her arms around his neck and kept him to her, lifting herself up to deepen the kiss and she fought desperately to get him to dance with her once again.

Without warning he came at her fiercely, turning his little tutorial into a game for domination. At his sudden change of mode she moaned, submissively giving up after a short fight. His hand left its nest in her hair and trailed down her body, towards her thigh. His calloused fingers stroke her fair skin, gliding her skirt up.

That's where Sakura made her first action of resistance since she pushed him away the first time. She broke the kiss, and grabbed his wrist lightly, her hands shaking with her heavy breaths.

"Don't."

Itachi blinked, staring at her glazy eyes that were darkened by pleasure. Slowly, unwillingly, he removed his hand from her hip, and set it by her waist instead. His apathetic expression was back, and the only hint to their previous activities except his body position was his slightly parted lips covered in saliva.

Worried at his sudden change Sakura bit her lip. "I…I don't want to do _that_…" she confessed meekly, avoiding his gaze.

"Of course," he said and raised his body off hers, stretching his back slightly. He backed a step and offered her a hand, pulling her up into a sitting position. She was still breathing heavily and her chest heaved up and down. Grumpily she wondered why she was the only one visibly affected?

With a smirk he reached up and let his fingers comb through a tussled lock of her hair, letting the tip of them graze her skin, purposely making her shiver. "Go and pack your things up, I'll give you a ride home," he said, walking around the table and towards the desk.

She stared dazedly at his back, seeing the shirt was more ruffled than when she first walked behind him on the way to this classroom. "H-How was it?" she asked suddenly, making him look up from his arranging of the papers on the desk. He raised a brow.

"You said you wanted to test if my lips felt as good as they looked. Did they?" she blushed deeply, but she might as well ask, it wasn't as if she would see him again after this.

He smirked, letting his tongue slide over the opening between his lips. "They did," he confessed, satisfied like a cat that had just finished a large serving of milk.

"Good for you, tomcat" she said the last part so low she didn't think he could hear it, so imagine her surprise when she heard chuckling behind her.

"Seems I got a feisty kitten on my tail," Itachi said, smirking satisfyingly.

With a humph she jumped down from the table and took her things, along with the biology booklet. She chewed on the inside of her cheek in aggravation, lowering her head as she headed against the door. She grabbed the handle to slide it up, and was confused when it didn't move. It took her a few seconds to realize that it had been locked, and she resisted the urge to turn around and throw a tantrum. Instead she gripped the lock hand a bit to hard and twisted it a bit to violently. When she slid the door to the side she controlled her movements to resemble those of a noble lady, twirling around and bowing slightly, covering her face with such a forced smile it actually hurt to have it.

"Thank you for the lesson, Uchiha-san," she said stiffly, starting to walk down the corridor with hard steps. Little did it take to tick her off.

By the time she neared her locker she had calmed down, and breathed deeply as she put on her jacket. Outside it was getting colder and colder for every day passing, nearing October, and winter along with it. She never was good with cold, after being out five minutes without a sweater on in minus one degree Celsius she would be as blue as a blueberry.

Sighing, throwing her bag over her shoulder she walked against the exit, and raised her eyebrows when she saw Itachi. He stood by the entrance, patiently waiting for her. Only then she remembered that the next time the door closed the alarm would turn itself on. It would have been rather embarrassing if she had locked him in (or if she had been) so she was silently grateful for his thoughtfulness.

"After you, _hime-sama,_" he said teasingly and opened the door. He didn't move as much as he could have, forcing her to graze him as she made her way outside. With as long strides she could handle without looking all silly she started to make her way against the main gate. She was rather frustrated when he caught up to her without any problem at all, reminding her of their difference in height.

Sighing at the cruel reality (she really wished for a few more centimeters) she turned to the left, heading towards her house.

"Sakura," she stopped dead, feeling goose bumps rising on her arms at his tone. She looked at him over her shoulder, blinking in surprise. He was walking the other way, against a black car that looked _very_ expensive. He raised a brow at her looking so discretely demanding on her she wondered what would happen in she declined.

She should say no. After what he had done so far he might as well take her to a love hotel instead of her home. But supposedly driving to her house in ten minutes in a warm car sure sounded more inviting than a forty minute walk and standing on a crowded subway train. Her finger twitched in protest when she sighed in defeat. She really couldn't fight her fear for cold (or him, for that matter).

She walked against him, muttering something about her heat-addicted genes and thin layer of fat. Itachi had to restrain himself from chuckling at her grumpy style, with the muffler covering half her face, making it look like her head was directly attached to her shoulders. The task to not break out in as much of a fit of laughter that normal Uchiha men could became harder by her stiff and bouncy way of walk. The relatively short white skirt she was wearing as the standard winter uniform revealed her legs to the cold, and he could see how they slowly turned purple and blue.

"Hurry up and unlock!" she said impatiently after trying the handle once. The shoulder bag was resting comfortably against her hips, that was shaking with her tapping foot. "Or do you want me to freeze to death?"

"I would not have any further use for you if I did that," he said lowly, and wasn't surprised when she didn't hear. After all, she was chattering her teeth and was shuddering uncontrollably as her clothed fingers was waiting to throw the door of his Mercedes open. He couldn't stop the far to sinful thoughts that played across his consciousness when he thought about _how_ to make her warm. He pulled up the keys from his pocket and pressed the electric unlocking button. As soon as the dim click sounded the door on the passengers seat flew up and the aggravated pinkette quickly took a seat on the seat.

Sakura put her bag on her lap as she closed the door, trying to entomb herself in the leather seat. She marveled at the luxurious interior, not daring to touch anything that looked shinier than a penny, and that was practically the entire car. If she did she was sure something terrible would happen, and Itachi would be glaring at her for 'hurting' his precious car. All men care about their cars, no matter how out of character it may seem.

With a sigh she put on the belt, and just as she was about to clip it the door on the drivers side opened and the dark haired wonder (not baum, man) took his position behind the steering wheel. He put the key in and turned it, and she was surprised that the motor was so quiet when it started. She sank down into the seat that was slowly heating as they drove off, and she felt sleepy satisfaction wash over her.

"Where do you live?" not letting his question disturb her internal peace, she mumbled her address in a blurry mumble, but he seemed to catch it, since he didn't ask again. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy as she became more and more relaxed in the warm atmosphere, slowly sliding off into a comfortable slumber. She cursed Naruto for giving her the cold that had knocked her out for three days straight, silently starting to snooze as they stopped, teasing a rare smile on her driver's lips.

Word count: 6458

Hello everyone (: I'm back with a new fan fiction, this time an alternative universe ItaSaku! I always wanted to write an AU, and now finally I have begun! I hope that all of you will enjoy it like you enjoyed my previous installments, and those to come.

If you have any question, message or review!

Love, Angel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

**Closing in**

_Never fall asleep when you have an Uchiha close to you._

Blinking, making a half yawn, half groan, Sakura tried to regain control of her teenage limbs, and any teenager know how hard that is. With a large amount of willpower she succeeded to bring her hand to her face in a try to rub the sleep out of her eyes. With another tired exhale she set herself on her elbows, dimly wondering if her sheets had always been this dark. And since when was her wall painted black? As far as she knew her room had always been white-ish jade green…

Suddenly she realized that there was far more pillows beneath her than there was on her own upper floor, while the duvet was far to heavy to be that which had laid on her bed for years on end. And, something even stranger, she had never had a king sized bed…

The person who had brought her here would surely regret it when her icing scream echoed throughout the house. She jumped up, her foot twirled inside the duvet, causing her to fall to the ground with a dull thud. She coughed a few times before she felt that more skin than it should be was in contact with something cold, and she guessed it was the floor. With a look down on herself another sound so strong that it was hard to believe that a human being could make such noise came out of her lungs. In panic she grabbed the duvet and wrapped it around her body, covering up everything which did not have an undergarment on. She laid like a worm on the cold floor, shaking with barely suppressed tears.

She didn't know where she was, or why, and it scared her. But soon the memories of the time before she fell asleep came back, and perception dawned. It only made her want to scream louder, but she resisted, and just left herself to mutter miserably in her warm cocoon. She curled up in a ball, biting her teeth hard together to keep her tears back. Why the hell did that bastard take her to his house?!

As if called upon the door opened, and she could almost _hear_ how a smirk curved on that demons lips. Without further ado Sakura uncovered her head and glared angrily towards the direction she thought the door was, and saw a grin full of satisfaction on a man wearing nothing but sweatpants. He leaned calmly against the frame, his arms crossed over his extremely well trained chest. She would have been blushing if she wasn't so angry.

"Where the hell am I?! And why?!" she asked, or yelled, "AND WHY AM I NAKED?!!"

Itachi was smirking wider by the second. "I do not recall you where naked. Or would you have preferred it that way?" his vain hint was more than enough to throw her anger off balance, and she blushed deeply. If she had not known she didn't feel anything strange in-between her legs she would have made the assumption they had been engaging in some rather nasty activities.

"Shut up and answer my questions!" she ordered him, trying to stand up from her rather vulnerable position. It was hard to achieve a strong hold on her legs while still covering her skin, but soon succeeded.

"Why, _Sakura_, it's rather hard to answer questions and at the same time shut up," if he hadn't purred her name she would have been stomping against him right now to give him a dirty scolding. She instead felt a tightening in her stomach, and took a reluctant step back.

"Just answer…" she close to whimpered, not being able to withstand the pressure of the situation.

If possible, he smirked wider, "as you wish, _hime-sama_," he said, "you are in my room, in my house." He waited a few seconds for her reaction, and was very pleased when she looked confusedly at him.

"Why didn't you take me home like you said you would?" she asked, frowning.

"Well, after you fell asleep I couldn't wake you up nor get your address, since you mumbled something about tempura when I asked. Therefore I brought you here," he explained, his smirk ceasing to exist.

With a frown Sakura considered his answer, and found it quite plausible. She had always been a heavy sleeper, and Naruto said that if there would ever fall a bomb close to her she wouldn't notice until she was up in heaven. And her mother had mentioned that she mumbled about food while drifting off to sleep. Oh god…

Her eyes widened when she remembered that her mother had no idea where she was, and that she would break out in panic if she ever got to know she had spent the night at some close to stranger's house. "My kaa-chan--

"I sent her a text last night on your phone, saying you stayed the night at a friend's," Sakura barely noticed her chin dropping at the shock. She would never had guessed that he would have been so considerate about her disposition. Silently she came to an understanding about the situation.

"Em… I guess… That is… Thanks…" she mumbled, lowering her head in a respectful bow.

Itachi raised an eye brow at her formality, and wondered when her temper would take over again.

And true enough, it did. "But why the hell am I in _your_ room?! And, once again, _why the fuck am I close to naked_?!" she hissed, glaring angrily at him.

With an amused sigh he turned and walked out, leaving her with her anger. "Hey! Don't run away!" she called after him, jogging over the floor as good as she could while holding the thick cover around her. When she came out of the bedroom she felt a mouth watering smell, and realized just how hungry she was. Letting her nose lead her she soon ended up in the kitchen, after a detour into the living room and bath (she never claimed to have a nose like Kiba or Naruto).

Walking into a shiny, luxurious, kitchen she gawked at finding Itachi standing by the stove. It was rather surprising, considering his brother could burn boiling water and mistake cinnamon for flour. He was stirring in a pot filled with something white and green. Suspiciously closing in she realized it was potato and leek soup, and felt her mouth water. Her stomach made a loud growl, but thankfully the duvet dimmed the sound to a fainter level.

"Shouldn't you put some clothes on, Sakura?" Itachi asked when she was almost drooling.

"Eh? Oh…um…yeah…" she turned around to wobble back to the bedroom, "wait a sec, where are my clothes?!"

"On the chair next to the bed," he said, not facing her.

Pouting and glaring at him she once again wanted an explanation.

"I thought it would be rather uncomfortable for you to sleep with your uniform on, so I took it off. And I don't have a guestroom, so I just let you sleep in my bed," he smirked, looking over his shoulder on her blushing face.

"Pervert!" she said and ran back to the bedroom, after loosing herself inside the bathroom once again. When she finally found her way back to that place where she had been sleeping for quite a few hours, she carelessly threw the duvet on the bed and grabbed the shirt she usually wore for school on. She yawned and dressed fully, thinking that people would be surprised to see a girl in uniform on a Saturday walking around. The uniform was manly white for girls, and black for guys. They were made from silk, sown with threads with gold. Really, it was unnecessary to go to such extreme lengths to show the school superiority, but what could she say, the Uchiha's (who conveniently enough owned the school) loved to brag about their fortune. And also, it wasn't that bad to walk around in something for 'free' that it would take normal people years to earn enough money for.

Finally satisfying with her look she walked back to the kitchen, finding the table already set and Itachi just setting the pot on it. Once again her stomach rumbled like an avalanche, and the bit her lip, hoping he didn't hear. Without as much as a glance at her he seated at the rectangular table, and patiently waited for her to get the hint to sit down. Walking hurriedly she quickly sat down and observed her table-neighbor for some kind of invitation to start.

Blinking once, he nodded slightly and let her begin. Happily she took her bowl to the edge of the pot and with the ladle she scooped up a rather big portion of the soup, happily digging in when she had given it a small zip to see if it was acceptable. She found it far better than her assumption based on previous encounters with Uchiha cooking. She was sure Mikoto was proud that at least one of the men in her house could tell the difference between potatoes and stones. Because neither Fugaku nor Sasuke had any culinary skills Sakura suspected that Itachi had more of his mothers genes than his fathers, his feminine handsomeness strengthening her hypotheses.

"How did you learn to cook so well?" she asked after finding her curiosity impossible to clench. At her question Itachi raised an eyebrow, pulling on his cheek muscles a bit.

"Do you ask because I am a man or that I am an Uchiha?" he chuckled.

"A little bit of both, you decide yourself which one you would prefer it to be," she waved her hand carelessly.

"In the beginning, I couldn't even warm milk properly, even if I had a microwave. But since kaa-san often worked and too-san refused to set his foot in the kitchen for any other reason than the car keys, newspaper and dinner I had to make Sasuke food," he smirked at some memory, "and let us just say he was, and is, very picky with what he put in his mouth."

Sakura snorted, "tell me about it. It took me two years to get his stupid onigiri right."

"And I guess you do not like okkake?" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"No, I don't. I've never been a big fan of fishes, alive or not," she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the mere mention of those aquatic vertebrates. "And you? Do you like fish?"

"It's eatable," he lowered his lashes, "but I prefer cherries."

Sakura choked on the last spoon of soup flowing down her throat and coughed to get it out of her trachea. It wasn't healthy to converse with this man. "E-excuse me?" she asked with a cough, trying to stop tears from falling out of her eye sockets. She grabbed the glass of water standing on the table and took a large gulp before breathing out.

"I think you heard what I said," he whispered in her ear. She yelped at his closeness, she hadn't noticed him moving in her oxygen-lacking state.

"W-what are you standing so close for?" she asked meekly, trying to look away from him.

"I couldn't have you lying dead on my kitchen floor, I would be accused for inflicting another persons death," he said, but leaned closer, "and I am rather sure you don't dislike my proximation." He smirked and closed the distance between them, placing a light kiss on her cheek, leaving her in shock. After what she had experienced together with him so far she was sure he was about to make her all dizzy and light-headed.

In a way he did succeed, but not the way she had expected him to. She was gaping like a fish out of water, staring wide eyed at him. "W-what the hell was that for?!" she hissed, still not moving from her stiff position.

His smirk just widened and he then took her bowl, seeing she had finished. "You can go watch television in the living room of you want to, I will get dressed and then I'll take you home," he said over his shoulder as he put the dishes in the washer.

"Oh…ok…" she stood up and brushed of her legs (for some strange reason, this house was clinically clean). She walked out of the kitchen, walking straight to the living room, without detours. She sat down in the comfy sofa in front of the flat screen television, which by the way was one of the largest she had ever seen. She grabbed the remote set on the table before her, and turned it on, noticing the clear picture showing the news. She wondered how the hell he could afford all this, she had no idea what he worked with…

"_And now a feature from yesterdays press conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department where Uchiha Fugaku announced his soon-to-be retirement from the position of superintendent general, as well as who would be the successor," _the anchor said stiffly, waiting for pictures from the press conference to start. Sakura immediately paid attention, she hadn't heard anything of his retirement and it came as quite a surprise to hear it on a news program since she rarely got news reports from anything else the radio on the morning bus (as well as Ino's daily gossip report).

"_I am honored to see that so many has come here to listen to my announcement today,"_ the usual formality Sakura couldn't help but to roll her eyes at, _"as you may know, I am nearing the age of fifty-five, and has been the leader of the military force here in Tokyo for twenty years, and I see it fit, both for me and the employees, that there should be some new blood at the top."_ Mumbles and hands rose as he finished what he was saying, but he just put a hand up to quiet everyone. _"And many agree with me that the next man at the top will be my son."_

Sakura gawked at the screen when a well known figure appeared from the sidelines as soon as Fugaku made a move with his fingers. She made a long and loud gasp as Itachi stood beside his father.

"_By next year, Itachi will take over after me as the Superintendent general,"_ by now her eyeballs were ready to fall out of her head. She had been having extra lessons with one of the, in the future, most powerful men in Japan, and she had taken a ride in his car, and slept in his bed, and tasted his home cooking, and seen him topless and…kissed him…

A scream left her lips as she flew up and ran inside the bedroom, where she found him just about to get undressed. He turned and raised his eyebrows at her, obviously wondering what the ruckus was about. In a fruitless attempt to look angry she glared at him, standing with her limbs wildly spread over his wall, door and floor. "Y-you…you're the next superintendent general…?" it came out more as a question than she had wanted it too, but she couldn't help herself.

"Yes?" he blinked calmly turning towards her fully.

"I…I've kissed one of Japan's most powerful men…" she mumbled, mostly to herself, but unfortunately he heard her unclear voice.

"You can get more than just a kiss if you want too," he smirked seductively, discreetly untying the bow on his sweat pants.

She gasped again, and felt herself get hot like steaming water. "G-get dressed!" she yelled and slammed the door, running back to the sofa, finding a pillow to hug in despair. She stared blankly as the news continued to roll interviews with people about the generation shift, both employees and civilians getting the mic stuffed into their face by the reporter.

"_I think it will be good with, as Fugaku-sama said, with some new blood. Itachi-sempai is a mature, calm, collected and responsible man, and I think he will take on the task whole heartedly,"_ Sakura had to narrow her eyes at the young man who was interviewed, if he only knew how 'mature' his beloved _Itachi-sempai _was at home, and how 'responsible' he was when alone with a female student in the late afternoon.

"_Itachi is a very talented youth, and I don't think Fugaku could have chosen a better replacement,"_ the old man smiled and seemed to mean what he said genially, not an ounce of jealousy in his face. By his casual addressing of the two Uchiha's she guessed he must also be from that family, no one else would have the guts to exclude the honorifics publicly.

"_I'm not very updated about it, but that man seems to be suitable for the position. Not to talk about his looks,"_ the civil woman laughed and Sakura felt a sting of something in her chest. She didn't dare to think it was jealousy, so she just decided it was pity, for that woman to be trapped in his net already.

She zapped through the many channels, wondering _why _someone like _Itachi_ would need such a large number of them. And three channels entirely for drama? What was he, a sissy in disguise? A woman? His long lashes and smooth features did strengthen that theory…

"Are you ready to go?" the voice from behind startled her, and she turned, gazing at that beautiful face of her suspicious host. Blinking twice she realized he was dressed in a suit, and guessed that he was off to work. With that attire he did absolutely _not_ look like a female.

"Do you have work today?" she asked sheepishly, quickly standing up, suddenly stressed.

"I do, but I do not need to be there until twelve," he said, calming her quick panic attack. He started to walk out, probably against the hall, and she hurried to turn off the television to follow him. She was glad she did, because it would have taken her a little while to find the right way (she had a terrible sense of direction).

She saw her shoes neatly placed on the floor beside the few other pairs. With a sigh of relief she noticed he wasn't a diva who loved those pieces of fabric worn on the feet. She herself had nothing against shoes, but she had always found it a bit freakish for someone to have more than twenty pairs of them, and especially if the particular someone was a male.

After fitting her feet into the slightly heeled ankle-boots she followed him outside, stalking behind him to enter the garage, opening the port, revealing the black Mercedes and another very rare and valuable car, judging by the horse on the vessel she guessed it was a Ferrari or a Mustang. She really didn't know how the hell he could afford these crazy cars, or the extraordinary house etc.

He unlocked the Mercedes, seating himself inside, and started the motor just as Sakura sat in beside him. She noted that her bag was on the floor, and realized she had forgotten all about it. She quickly put her security belt on and waited for them to move.

"Where do you live?" he asked before tapping on the gas.

"Huh? Oh… Minato," she said.

"That isn't really much of a help," he mumbled.

"Where are we?"

"In Shirokane," Itachi said, slightly impatiently.

"Oh, I live in Aoyama," she smiled.

"Aoyama? One never think there are houses there, with all the companies main offices," he said absentmindedly as he began to drive.

"I know, right? But my dad works at one of them, so he got a house," she stopped herself from starting a rant just as she was about to start, and sat quietly, looking out the window. The silence laid as a coat between them, and she felt it was a rather unpleasant one. She thought about something to say as they rolled through the streets. She took a peek at him out of the corner of her eye, noting he looked very good in a suit. That woman on the news was definitely right when she complimented his exterior appearance.

"You look good…" she said before she could discard the thought into the garbage bin of her mind.

His lips curled, "so do you." He leveled up the gear, "but I prefer you more without clothes on."

She became red in the face, both out of anger and embarrassment. "It will be the worst decision in the history of Japan to let you become head of the police force!"

"Why _Sakura_, your words flatter me," he chuckled, knowing what he could do to her by calling her name.

"You're even _worse_ than you little brother!!" she cried throwing her arms across her chest in defeat. All her matches with him were short--both casual and…sensual--and she hated the fact that he always won. He should be a gentleman and lay down his cape for her to step on, but nothing like that, just god damned success after success!

She stuck out her tongue at him childishly, trying to make him feel at least a little bit of pity for her. But no, no, he just continued to smirk.

Uchiha's are dangerous to befriend, and damn it, she knew half the clan! She thought it was strange to rarely hear Sasuke utter a word about his older brother. In fact, it was with such space in between that she more often then not forgot that he had a sibling. She had never met him, until yesterday, never even hearing his name either, the only reference was Sasuke's precious _aniki_ (he even wrote nii-san on their family tree in grade school).

"Left here," she said quietly, sighing over the fact that Uchiha's would always be bastards.

He obeyed her command, and turned, surprisingly enough presaging a neighborhood at little further away that actually seemed to have houses meant to live in. They speed down the lane, seeing people and stores flash by outside the glass.

"At the end of the street, turn left again," she said, pointing in that direction with her finger.

"As you wish, _hime-sama_," this arrogant man really had no shame, making a woman melt like this!

"You're almost taking the price as the largest bastard I've ever had the lack of luck to meet," she mumbled absentmindedly, lost in a fantasy about herself being a princess, having this man act as a knight going out in a battle for her sake. '_What kind of sick technique is he using on me?!'_

'_If I recall correctly it is called _sexual attraction_! Or was it love?'_ Sakura had to groan in frustration of the sudden intrusion of her mind by her mental alter ego.

'_Shut up you useless character!'_

'_Oh, that hurt!'_

'_I hope so!'_ with a sigh she opened her eyes, realizing they were just about to approach her house. "Oh! This is it!" she squealed, collecting her bag from the floor.

With a soft deceleration they stopped, right in front of her gate. She had to marvel at his skillful driving, but soon told herself it wasn't anything special since he was a police. She unbuttoned her seatbelt and moved to open the door, just to feel a hand on her neck. She froze up, anticipating another hand to come up to wrap around her throat. She turned her head uncertainly, seeing red eyes staring hazily at her. Or not really at _her_, but at the place he held his hand. Gently he tugged at her body, making her lean against him. What really frightened her about this man was that he was impossible to fight off, as she had discovered earlier.

"U-Uchiha-san…" she mumbled, uncertain of what he would do. He gave her an almost cruel grin, brushing their lips together.

"I don't listen to that name, _hime_," he said and kissed her cheek, laughably close to her mouth. Her breath stayed in her lungs, and she had to grip her bag painfully hard to stop herself from loose herself in bliss. It should not be possible to make this to her with such simple actions, she had refused advances from men for years, and it should be no different with this man.

"Please stop it…" she begged, sighing in pleasure when he stroke her skin.

The only reply she got was more kisses showered over her face, going down towards her neck. The fragile ribbon she had around her neck as part of her uniform slipped off, her neckline became deeper with every button coming lose. She didn't know how he did it, but he was having himself undressing her without objections. He found her collar bone, nipping it greedily, marring her fair skin red with his teeth. She gasped in pleasure when he pressed his mouth against her shoulder, moaning in surprise.

Suddenly it struck her that he was successfully creating a hickey on her body, and if she didn't stop him he was sure to give her a blue mark. With a weak whimper in protest she tried to push him away, only to find her hand removed by his. She made an attempt to withdraw, but found herself trapped by his arms. Biting her lip in defeat she lowered her head, speaking against his ear, "please let me go, Itachi." Her voice was a lot more huskier than she had planned for, and found the result memorable.

Itachi shivered, raising his face from her shoulder. His hot breath fanned over the wet spot on her body, before he towered over her with his full sitting length. "That's more like it, _Sakura_, even if I doubt you minded very much," he cooed, looking at her through thin slits between his lashes.

"I hate you…" she mumbled angrily, shrugging out of his grip. She turned around to open the door, and put her foot out. Suddenly she felt a light pull on her hair, and she flew hear head around, only to see Itachi kissing her tresses.

"Good bye, Sakura," he said, taking a breath of her scent.

She blushed, and hurried out on the side walk. "Thanks for the ride…" she said before shutting the door. She started to walk over the pavement inside her garden, hurrying towards her door. She pulled her keychain out of her pocket, and quickly found the house key. She unlocked the door and opened it, looking back over her shoulder, spotting Itachi still standing on the road with that expensive car. She turned her gaze to the ground shyly and entered her home, hearing him drive off as she shut the door.

"I'm home," she called in a low voice, afraid that if she was too loud she would crack it. Her throat hurt a bit, and she frowned in irritation.

"Sakura! Oh, don't scare your mother by just deciding things without telling me first!" Haruno Mikaru, physician and teenage mother, came running out of the kitchen, hugging her daughter tightly. "I was so worried that you didn't come home from your extra hours, I almost thought you had fainted from fever!"

"I'm fine, kaa-chan! Like I said in my text, I slept over at a friends," Sakura said, really hoping Itachi indeed did send that message, since she hadn't checked her cell phone yet.

"Oh yes! But who was it? I called Ino-chan's father, as well as Minato-kun, but neither said you were there," the older woman stared at her offspring in confusion.

"Uh…oh, kaa-chan, did you make tempura?!" she made a poor try to lead her mother's attention to something else, good thing she was usually rater absentminded, since it seemed to work.

"You noticed? Would you like some? Your father won't come home until this evening, but if you'd like some now you can take," with a smile Mikaru walked against the kitchen, probably planning to take out chopsticks and plates.

"I've already eaten, kaa-chan. I'll eat later," Sakura couldn't help but to feel a small clench at her heart when her mom looked so very disappointed.

"Oh, of course you have. Just take it later then," she brushed it off with a smile, like always.

With a sigh Sakura removed her jacket and shoes, running upstairs as soon as she was out of all outdoor clothing. The stairs were rather narrow, but they were pleasant to walk up and down in. The math spiked to the wood made it moth soft and safe, and the pictures hanging on the walls showed happy moments in their lives.

Running down the corridor on the second story she entered her room at the end of it, throwing up the door, "Leo, I'm home!"

On her bed, tucked into the far corner of the room laid a large, orange cat, stretching out over half the length. His green eyes opened lazily, and he stretched before jumping down on the floor, trotting towards his mistress. He stroke along her legs, purring softly and meowing, happy to have her back. With a smile she bent down and patted him, making him stand on two legs to meet her hand. "Missed me?" she asked, but didn't get more of a reply than his continued love administrations.

She picked him up and walked towards her bed, and found it strange that he was sniffing at her neck and face, but soon understood why. Her face became pale, and she let go of her cat, trusting that he would land softly on her bed (that cat is probably the only cat which does not land on his feet in all situations). She ran up to her full body mirror and widened her collar, seeing a mark on her collarbone, stained purple. It was a wonder that her mother hadn't noticed it.

Her fingers carefully stroke the bruise, and she felt a slight sting. It would be there for days, two at the very least. If she was going to school with this she would have to put make up on it. In fact, she had to have it covered before she come in front of her parents again.

"_Good bye, Sakura."_

What the hell did he mean with 'good bye'? Was it enough for him to just have his fun, and then dump her? That thought…hurt. It hurt more than she had assumed it would.

_It hurt a lot. _

* * *

"Exactly what did you do this Friday and Saturday? You didn't answer my calls at all!" for the millionth time Sakura sighed at her persistent friends questions.

"Like I told you, I was so tired I was asleep ever since I left school," she couldn't tell her blonde friend exactly where she had been, and she didn't exactly lie either. It was just after the last period, and the students started to gather up their belongings and quickly made their way out to the corridors.

"And remember the assignment for tomorrow, I want a full ten pages report on the topic you were handed!" Jiraya-sensei said to the class before he walked out the classroom. Even if he was a skilled teacher he was just an old pervert, who spend most of his free time writing porn rather than correcting tests and essays. But despite all that he was married to the headmaster, however many thought it was just a farce to keep him under her watch. Although this theory was pushed back by the many hour-long…chats they had every now and then at the Dean's office. Not many wanted to even think about it anymore, but of course, freshmen just _had_ to ask their sempai's if it was true or not.

"Lousy old perverted man," Ino muttered but immediately started to glare at her pink haired classmate, "and lousy young lying woman."

"I'm not lying Ino," Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"You must be. First you show up late, and then you don't have your ribbon! You practically refuse to pick up your phone and you have been avoiding Mikoto-sensei, and--

"I've been absentminded, right?" they were getting enough of this, both of them.

Narrowing her eyes the Yamanaka figured there was something that disturbed her friend, and that it was something she'd rather have no one know about, but of course, that only made it more the interesting. And when Yamanaka's have found something they find intriguing they won't let it slip them by to easily, and this Haruno was going to find that out the hard way--again.

"Hey Naruto, help me pry the truth out of forehead here! She's hiding something from us!" she waved her hand for the blondest man there was in that town, together with his father.

As commanded, the obedient idiot immediately found a place hooked to the side of his blossom haired childhood friend. "You are, Sakura-chan?" he was trying to sound hurt, as if he hoped for a mental breakdown from her, forcing without forcing her to tell him what's up.

"Can you stop this ridiculous quiz?!" she cried in frustration, turning to head for her corner. "I'm getting sick and tired of it!"

Ino tugged at Naruto's jacket, making him bend down to lend her his ear, "she avoided the question, that means she's definitely hiding something!" As if a light went up for him he grabbed her shoulder.

"She's avoiding the question! That means she's definitely hiding something!!" he repeated, louder, and as if it was something he came up with, earning himself two smacks to the head.

"Be quiet, dobe," none else than the most outstanding genius and hottest item at the school, within all the years, was making his appearance. He didn't seem to stand the very existence of that orange and yellow wonder, but the truth (which only Sakura knew of) was that he would be devastated without it.

"Shut up teme! I'll talk all I want!"

"You're not talking, you're yelling," Sasuke claimed, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"Am not!" Naruto protested, hitting his rival on the arm.

"Hn," ah, the universal sound. To understand the meaning of each 'hn' you would need someone who had studied the behaviors of Uchiha's for a long time, and that someone was Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, what did that mean?" Naruto leaned against his past love object and whispered his question.

"It meant 'I'm right and you know it, so shut up you dobe or you won't be getting any for a week'," she whispered back, "but I think that last part was a lie, I could feel an undertone of disappointment."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan!" with renewed knowledge the Uzumaki took up the fight again, "you might be right, but you can't come and tell me to shut up, because then _you_ won't be get--

It was most fortunate for Uchiha's to be born with quick reflexes, or else their secret would have been exposed the day after they kissed for the first time. "Shut up, usuratonkashi!" he hissed, holding his hand over his counterparts mouth.

Sakura giggled at the scene, and laid the strap of her bag over her shoulder, closing her locker to head home. "I'll be going soon, you two better hurry up if you want to have company home," it was a well know fact that the three of them are friends from childhood, and they usually walked home together. But recently that fact had also been used by the two lovers, they said walking her home was priority over their own quarrels, but usually went to the others place after dropping her off.

Quickly the two of them stopped their name-calling contest and headed for their lockers to get ready to leave. Thinking that she would finally have a few quiet minutes for herself her hopes were crashed by her first female friend, once more.

"I am demanding an answer from you! And I'm not satisfied with the 'I fell asleep' crap!" Ino demanded, towering with her few more centimeters of height over her friend.

"Oh, just drop it! I've already told you the truth!" with an irritated sigh the pink haired girl walked outside, shivering when the cold air bitch slapped her entire body. Feeling the goose bumps appear on her arms and back. She really couldn't wait for spring to come, but unfortunately there was half a year left until she could be guaranteed a warmer climate. She heard Naruto dragging Sasuke over the ground behind her to catch up with them. When finally reaching the two girls they had found another reason to fight over, this time it was if okkake onigiri or jam onigiri was more delicious (and you can guess which one of them fought for which).

"Jam is so much tastier than fish!" the blonde yelled at his friend.

"Idiot, it's unhealthy and doesn't fit with rice or sea grass!" Sasuke stated angrily, standing up for his favorite food, after tomatoes, of course.

"Stop arguing about it, because neither of you is going to give up in the end! And we have a much more important mission right now, getting Sakura to tell us exactly where she was this Friday and Staurday!" Ino said, glaring warningly at the pair of males.

Sasuke groaned, irritated by the noisy people he called friends. Discreetly he drew closer to Naruto, but not too close, since others might notice.

"So, tell us right this moment or I will…and oh ho, ho, what is that delicious eye candy I see over there?" it was rare for the Yamanaka to direct her attention to something else than the task in front of her in the middle of a sentence, so of course all of them turned to the direction she was looking in.

A painful jump in her chest made Sakura gasp, and her eyes widened considerably. Her entire being got drained from just a look, but her body heated up. She didn't know if she believed the scene before her, since these kind of cheesy situations only occurred in manga. But well, she had to believe it, now that she could feel electricity run through her as the red ruby's she had been staring into a few days prior was staring straight at her.

Almost invisibly, his mouth curled into a slight smirk, making her cheeks heat up like lava stones. Her head felt dizzy, and the icy air burned her nostrils. She had to take a few steps back to stabilize herself. It truly was a shock for her to see him, because she had been convincing herself for two days that she would never see him again.

"Sakura, why is he looking this way?" Ino asked.

"Uh…my hair?" she mumbled absentmindedly.

"Then why is he now trying to burn of the hand that is about to grab you and pull you in behind the wall with his gaze?" the blonde asked, mischief and anger seeping out of her mouth.

"What?" before Sakura could get an answer she was promptly pulled back within the school grounds, pushed up against a white wall.

"S-Sakura-chan, why the hell is teme's older brother looking at you with the Uchiha stare saying 'I want you and you know it'?" Naruto was in despair, trying to shake the answer out of his item of protection.

"Uh…he is?" she asked, letting herself get close to torn apart by his rough shakes.

"Hell yeah, he is!!"

"Naruto-kun, if you don't mind, I would like to return this to Sakura," the silky purr was right beside them, and both jumped like cats to avoid it. Itachi smiled a fake, smooth smile, holding up a long red band.

Poor Naruto was almost loosing his eyes over the shock, not only to hear that the bastard's brother called _his_ precious Sakura-chan by name, but also that he was holding on to her ribbon. "W-why the hell do you have her ribbon?! And why are you here at all?!" he yelled, pointing accursedly at the dark haired man.

"Um, Naruto--

"Have Sakura not told you she spent the beginning of the weekend with me?" how could he make it sound so much more serious than it was? Really, Uchiha's are real mysteries.

Now the two blonde's within hearing distance as well as the younger one of the two brothers were gawking, more or less involuntary. Ino was gripping after something to hold on to, and found the closest thing being Sasuke, and Naruto did the same. Their terror-stricken faces soon started to stare at Sakura, who was white as a sheet, trying to make herself shrink. Only that humans don't shrink out of nowhere, and she knew that very well. She held up her hand, blushing because of the awkward situation that she was sure she would have to explain later.

"T-thanks…" she muttered, getting the thin silk placed in her hand.

"See you this weekend, Sakura," he purred before walking out on the street again, leaving with a superior smirk, directed to his brother and his blonde partner.

The three friends of the innocent Haruno was left in shock, and all of them tried hard to find heir voice, or sense. "E-exactly what did just happen?" Ino asked, rubbing her temples.

"My older brother just gave Sakura her ribbon and practically confessed that he is going to rape her this weekend," Sasuke felt the headache knocking on his door, and the soon to come screams were definitely not going to help.

"What… Who… Why was he… What the hell is he going to do to _my_ Sakura-chan?!" Naruto turned in despair to his fastidious counter part, grabbing him by the shoulders, "what is your freakish brother going to do to her?!" The poor blonde was soon in tears, not being able to grasp the fact that his adorable fake sister was going to be locked up in a room, tied up and forced to heed every command of that devil walking around in a human cloak.

"Sakura, I want you to explain everything. And by everything, I mean every. Last. Little. Detail!" Ino threatened, her blue eyes darkening with poorly suppressed fury.

Sakura backed up against the wall like a frightened animal. "Ehm… Sasuke, explain your bother's behavior!"

Yes, that headache was a fact by now.

----

Word count: 7057

A/N: Wiiih! It's done, after almost one month with lots of stress and holidays and shit. My holiday is almost over, and I suck because I haven't gotten the chapter up earlier -.-' Yes, I feel emo over it.

I have to learn how to use the Japanese addressing system, it's damn confusing. I spent 2 hours just looking up the Tokyo info on wikipedia, until I gave up and searched on Google maps… our world is quite funny, don't you think?

Still, it's pretty good I think, but I do have to get myself a beta reader, or I will be even more screwed!

Hope you like it! The more you review, the faster I will write!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III**

**Should never have****…**

_Like he said, she was about to discover what real Uchiha men were like._

"Sakura-chan, please don't do this!" with a sigh she continued to cover her lashes with mascara.

"Dobe, even if you tell her that she won't get away. When Itachi want to do something he does it," Sasuke sat on the bed, leaning his head on his arm, hiding his inner panic and confusion. He hadn't felt like this since he realized he was in love with his lifelong rival and best friend, who happened to be a guy. Only this time, there was no underlying happiness waiting to surprise him like a jack-in-the-box.

"He's probably right, Naruto. I guess the only way I'll avoid this is to have an urgent stomach flu," she said and colored her lips a pink color.

"Sasuke, do you have some kind of medicine that can make her have flu symptoms? Like sleeping pills or Viagra…" the blonde was making plans far ahead of what he got out of his mouth, not realizing what he said.

"You want to turn her into a horny dog when she's going on a date with _my_ older brother?" wrinkling his nose, the Uchiha groaned.

"Huh? What--no…I-I was… No!! I've seen you when your pants are on fire, and I don't want to know how your older brother is!! Especially not since I found out he could throw the let's-do-it-against-the-wall-right-now look in the middle of the street!" poor, poor Naruto was getting desperate, "he makes James Bond seem like a priest!!"

"Bond kills people, Itachi sign papers," with another displeased grunt the black haired man laid down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm.

"A pen is a far more powerful weapon than a sword!" wow, the knucklehead had at least learned something on those classic literature lessons with Ebisu.

"Only if you have a laser built in, or possibly a bomb."

"I'm sure he goes around killing people when he gets bored…" the Uzumaki grumbled, crossing his arms.

"What the hell are you talking about? First off, don't judge him like that! Second, who the hell is James Bond?!" Sakura asked, feeling that she had a hard time catching up on this conversation.

"He's only one of the coolest secret agents ever put up on the silver-screen, that's all. And I judge him all I want, he harassed you!" Naruto cried, frowning in anger.

"He didn't harass me!"

"He kissed you _against your will_! He undressed you _in your sleep_! If that's not harassment I don't know what is! And how can you be so sure he didn't do anything more?!"

"…" the question was so stupid she wondered if she should answer it.

"He's going to be the next Superintendent General, I doubt he would take the risk of getting accused of sexual harassment," Sasuke grunted, "and he technically can't be accused of it either. He never forced her to anything. If we want to believe Sakura he did ask her."

"You're disgusted just thinking about it, aren't you?" Sakura asked.

"Of course not, I just ate sweet beans and drank five bottles sake before, so I'm fighting a hangover," the way he talked and really went to an extent to explain how he was feeling had the two love interest for him and his brother laugh.

"Sasuke, go and get yourself some tomatoes, you don't seem to be in a good mood," the pink haired girl laughed.

"You're wrong, Sakura. I couldn't be happier about you going on a date with my _sadistic_ brother. In fact, I'm in _ecstasy_," a long, irritated sigh left his lips.

"Aw, you're grumpy," she said, grinning.

"I am not," while having a slight tint to his cheeks he turned over, letting his back face them.

"I like it when you're grumpy. You're so cute when you are," Naruto said, climbing on top of the bed, giving his partner a poke on his cheek.

"Shut up, baka," Sasuke growled, hiding his embarrassment the ordinary Uchiha way, ignoring the cause of it.

"Don't you tell me to shut up, you--

Suddenly he flew up, standing tensed, listening after something. The way his whisker marks vibrated on his face as he…_sniffed_ the air made him look more like a surrogate than a human.

_Ding dong!_

"He's here!!" the blonde shouted and darted out the room, quickly running down the corridor and practically jumping down the stairs in one giant leap. The door was soon opened, and a conversation was started.

"Is it me or him who's going on a date?" Sakura wondered, grabbing her bag and walking out of the room, followed by her dark knight. She felt that the floor was slippery under her feet, thanks to the nylon on them.

"Please tell me you're not wearing stay-ups?" he asked as they walked down the staircase.

"I am, I ripped my stockings, what of it?"

"Don't bend down unless you absolutely have to, and make sure your legs are always properly covered," he whispered as they made their way inside the hall.

By the door, which was just about to get closed, the raven haired policeman stood, going through one of the infamous Uzumaki cross-questionings. And for the moment, he seemed to pass with flying colors, much to the interrogators chagrin. "What do you intend to do with her?" he asked, narrowing the blue eyes to slits.

"I intend to take her to dinner, Naruto-kun. And that is everything I am planning on," Itachi said, before redirecting his red eyes to his date. Upon seeing her he lowered his eyelids, following the delicate curves of her body, empathized by the red dress she was wearing. He liked the fact that the scarlet gown, dark stockings and black bag matched his own natural colors. It satisfied him, showing every other man, and woman, that she was his.

"Hi," she said, giving him a shy smile. She went to put on her shoes, slipping her small feet into her favorite red heels. They were high, and it allowed her to match his height a bit more than she usually would. Then she reached for her coat, finding that she should probably use fancy outerwear too.

She checked that she had everything necessary with her before moving to stop Naruto's fruitless attempt to keep her within his direct field of vision. "Now, don't forget to feed Leo later. There's food in the kitchen, and if you eat, put the dish in the dishwasher and try not to make a too big mess while I'm gone, alright?" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. After all the years together the three of them had developed an incredible bond, so much that even their parents treated them as each others children. They even had their own key to the house of the two others.

"But. Sakura-cha--

"See you later, Naruto," she said and gave her white knight a kiss before moving to let the even more disgruntled male to let him have his share of her love for them. He stubbornly looked away, but then glared at his brother.

"If she comes back with anything else than a smile you will wish you never were more than an egg in kaa-san's womb," he threatened, his black eyes shooting invisible bullets.

"Sasuke--

"Don't worry, ototo. I can make her come back with the broadest smile you have ever seen…" while talking he gently grabbed her hand, tugging her to his side.

"What are you saying?!" she asked, blushing furiously.

"Hey! You said you wouldn't do anything more than taking her to dinner!" Naruto shrieked, horrified.

"I said I didn't _plan_ to do anything else, but as you know Naruto-kun, Sakura is the kind of woman who you would go off schedule for," the smirk was satisfaction put in material form, and he entwined his fingers with hers, showing exactly what he was talking about, making it even harder for the blonde to keep himself in check.

"I am disgusted," the younger of the two brothers growled.

"Sasuke, you're--

"I am too! Damn you, Uchiha bastard! Leave my Sakura-chan alone!" the Uzumaki angrily snarled, moving to grab his fake sister. But instead of reaching her his way was cut off by the body of the man he tried to steal her from.

"I am sorry, Naruto-kun, I cannot let you do that," those red eyes was getting dark, now when they were out of vision from the woman behind him.

With a gulp the blonde backed. "I don't trust you with my Sakura-chan," he said, his pupils shrinking to small dots.

"I can assure you I will take good care of her," the black haired man said.

"I can take good care of myself thank you," Sakura snorted, and stepped in between the two fighters about to break out in a brawl. "And could you _please _stop behaving like five year olds? All three of you."

At her mature way her two friends withdrew reluctantly, while her new, surprised acquaintance widened his eyes at her. Not only did she compare his behavior to that of a child, she could also suppress both of those two hot tempered, stubborn and immature teens to the level where they could no longer fight over her. His thoughts began to spin, and soon he once again curled his lips.

He leaned down to her ear, "_Sakura_, to you like scolding?"

The slight implication had her gawking, she snapped her head his way and felt her cheeks warming up. "W-what are you talking about?! Of course I don't!" she hissed, hitting his arm.

"Then do you like being scolded?" the mischievous gleam in his eyes had her insides turn hot, and she watched him uncertainly.

"'Didn't harass me', my foot! What the hell are you saying to her?!" even though he didn't hear anything else than very breathy whispers he could clearly see that his precious 'little sister' was getting troubled.

"Dobe, just leave it," Sasuke sighed and walked into the living room, sitting down in the sofa next to the sleeping cat while massaging his temples. His boyfriend yelled after him to back him up instead of running away from the problems, but received nothing more than total ignorance in return.

"Let's go," Itachi said and tugged at the embarrassed girl, immediately earning him a shower of swears and curses.

Sakura nodded and opened the door. "See you later guys, love you," she said, waving past the tall figure behind her. She carefully proceeded outside, trying to avoid slipping with her heels. Luckily there was not much ice on the few steps down to the pavement, but once she set foot on the stone she felt that there was a much thinner and more dangerous layer of frozen water, and she had to depend on the fact that she had a stable man behind her several times.

"Why take heels in the middle of winter?" he asked, gently leading her to his car, opening the door for her.

"Because these match my dress, and going to a restaurant in heavy boots is not appropriate," she said. She heard him chuckle as he walked around the car, taking a seat behind the rear.

"I'd rather have you getting there alive and well, in boots, than with broken ankles and heels," he said and started the engine.

"You have no understanding for women's way of thinking," she said, glancing at him through the corner of her eye.

"Since I am a man I take pride in that statement."

"Do you men always turn insults into compliments and the other way around?" she asked, of what experience she had with men they always tried to make it so that the attention they had while being given a word of praise stayed on them, often through self-pity.

"It depends on what kind of compliment," he said and stopped for the mass of people walking over the street.

"Oh yeah?" she rolled her eyes, remembering getting the same answer from his younger brother.

"How about women? Are all of you so vain?"

"We're not as concerned about our appearance as you seem to think we are," she said, "most just makes themselves pretty for people they like."

"So you are enamored with me?" Itachi asked, the all-knowing smirk appeared.

"You apparently flatter yourself a lot," she muttered, "more than a woman."

His expression once again became carefully blank, his dark orbs dead. "I doubt that, Sakura," he said.

"Strange, that someone as handsome as you is not _that_ self-centered," she pointed out, blushing when he chuckled.

"So you think I am handsome, Sakura?"

"I thought we concluded that last week…" she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, refusing to look at him. It didn't help much because she was still blushing at the intent stare on her face.

He didn't say anything, just drove through the brightly lit streets of Tokyo. The silence between them was only disturbed by the evening news on the radio.

"…_three cases of kidnapping has been reported only this week, and two of them were young girls who had been out with friends in the area of Harajuku. Many parents asks themselves if they can trust the police force, and we have asked the current general superintendent, as well as his son,__"_the woman said, her voice neutral about the news.

"_We are well aware of the disappearances, and have two teams working on the seven cases reported since last week. We plan to become even more efficient in our search, as well as the precautions,__"_ Fugaku's extremely boring and serious voice grumbled. He was obviously irritated, but hid it under a fine mask of pride.

"_This is nothing new. Over a thousand people are reported missing or kidnapped every year, often it is just some kind of stage to lour the insurance companies and the like. Even though this is a possibility we will investigate we are actively searching and doing what we can to find the girls,__"_ it felt strange, hearing his voice through the radio. She glanced at him slightly, wondering what he was thinking. Suddenly it hit her, did he really have time to take her to dinner?

"Um…" she started, but didn't come up with any decent way to ask about it.

"Are you curious?" he asked lowly, turning the volume down.

"About what?" she cocked her head first, but immediately realized what he meant, and blushed at her ignorance, "no…not really. I was just wondering if you have time to go out on dinner with me when you have this kind of case?"

Surprisingly, he chuckled. "Actually, we have already found those girls," he said, amusement coating his voice.

"What? But on the radio you said--

"It was a lie, my officers have already taken the girls home," he said.

"Why? Was it really necessary to lie like that? And exactly how did you find them?" she frowned at him, starting to realize just how mischievous this man could be.

"Media is relying on an exciting story in order to have something to report. In fact, many investigation has been closed for weeks before the media finds out about it," he explained, "and those girls had taken in on a hotel when they didn't want to go home, feeling insecure in the middle of the night. They had just not woken up, or at least not bothered to get up, before six in the evening."

"That's it? So all the rumors about them being murdered or sexually abused is false?"

"Gossip tend to blow things out of proportion," he changed the gear and speed up on a nearly empty street, "we plan to reveal the finding next week."

"I think I can't trust the police anymore…" she sighed, "…not when you're there, at least."

"I don't need you to trust the police, but I want you to trust me," he said and stared intently at her, even though he was still driving insanely fast.

"Look at the road you idiot!" she shrieked in panic when she noticed he didn't even take a peek through the front window.

"Not unless you trust me," he mumbled, his red eyes glued to her face.

"Don't be stupid! I'm not ready to die yet!" she hissed, seeing cars coming from the other way, "look at the road!!"

"I don't feel like it," he teased.

Exactly what was this man? Some kind of psychopath? "Just slow down and drive properly!" her heart was beating painfully fast.

"I still don't feel like it," he smirked, "unless I get a reward."

"Don't be ridiculous! Getting to see tomorrow should be enough!" she felt herself get hot as they neared the end of the street and the heavily trafficked boulevard, and he showed no sign of realizing this fact.

"A reward, Sakura," he said.

She was beginning to hyperventilate. "Fine! I can kiss you on the cheek, _after_ you slow down and look at the road!" she practically shook with anger and fear for her life. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and she had to bite her teeth hard together to not let them slip and ruin her make up.

But it seemed the proposal was pleasing, and the _devilish_ man obeyed her wish. He actually had the time to slow down to a soft stop by the crosswalk and waited for the passing traffic to leave a gap for him to drive into.

Sakura couldn't help the relieved breath escaping her. She had been in an accident as a child, and it was not something she would want to experience again. "I hate you…" she grumbled, letting her breath catch up with her stressed heart. The brief pants had her lips dry up and she licked them briefly. What she did not notice was that the black haired man watched her movements, missing a few chances to enter the stream of cars.

His smirk was like a dangerous drug, and his thoughts trailed away to how he could make her pant like that later.

* * *

"What are you staring at?" Sakura asked, taking a zip from the glass filled with mineral water. The bubbles burned on her tongue, and she savored the feeling before swallowing.

"That man who is with his fiancé and is currently watching you with lust," Itachi replied darkly, capturing the man's blue gaze. He sent a message of bloody death if he caught him looking at his partner again. The man seemed to get his little intention, and uncomfortably shifted in his seat.

She turned around slightly and gave a pitiful look. "You're really mean, you know that right?" she asked sarcastically, shaking her head.

"Men tend to become that way when they have something they want to guard," he said, closing his eyes.

"Oh, you've got quite a large ego then," she confirmed with a teasing smile.

"Who wouldn't have when they are with such a beautiful woman such as yourself?" he asked, his eyes watching her with more than a healthy amount of satisfaction.

She blushed at his bold comment, and stared down on her glass. "Are you sure you're related to Sasuke? The only compliment he has given me was that I wasn't _that _fat," she muttered, unable to think of something better for the moment.

Itachi chuckled. "I am very sure I am the older brother of Sasuke, Sakura. Although Sasuke have inherited my father's stubbornness," he laughed.

"As I thought, he got more from Fugaku-sama than you," she said, giving him a critical look.

"What makes you think that?"

"First of all, Sasuke is a hell lot more stern, and as you said, stubborn. And you look much more like a girl than him," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks heat up further when he snickered.

"Maybe you want some…_persuasion_ to convince you that I am much more of a male than he will ever be?" he asked huskily, his voice melting her insides.

She hesitated before she replied, "exactly _what_ kind of persuasion?"

The red of his orbs darkened considerably, and his lashes lowered. He almost had her choking on the air she was breathing. "Do you really want me to answer that here, _Sakura_?"

The fine hairs on her arms stood up at his purr, shivers running down her spine. Her mouth went dry as he continued to observe her with those dark eyes, making her body hot. Suddenly she became uncomfortably aware of him, his scent tickled her nose and the heat radiating from his legs beneath the table cloth was immediately a lot more disturbing than she had found it a moment ago. She shifted slightly, biting her lip and fingering a lock of hair hanging beside her face. She couldn't continue to meet his gaze, and instead set it to the skillful work of the violinist.

"Your black and white, miss," she jumped at the squeaky exclamation of the server, and the beautifully decorated plate was placed in front of her. The two steaks were small, and she was grateful for that, she had never been a big eater (she had occasionally been called anorectic by her friend Choji).

"Thank you," she said, realizing how hungry she was.

"You're welcome. And sir, your salmon," the waitress said, smiling a bit too cutely at the Uchiha. Then she excused herself, walking away with swaying hips.

"I thought you didn't like fish?" she said and took a bite of the sliced potato that had come with her meat.

"I said it was edible, and the salmon happens to be very good here," he clarified, pleased with the fact that she remembered such a brief comment.

"Oh, really? Then what is your favorite food?" she asked before taking a sip of her water.

"Onigiri with seaweed and cabbage belongs to what I prefer," he said, empathizing his point by putting one of the green leaves that was on his plate in his mouth.

"That's not to be expected from someone like you," she mumbled.

"It is not?"

"No, I pictured you favoring meat dishes, like steak--

--which happens to be something I dislike very much," he cut her off, watching her baffled face.

"You don't like steak?" she had a hard time comprehending that fact, she had imagined him being like his father, a big fan of those sorts of food.

"Abhor it, basically," he confirmed, "and yours?"

"My favorite food?" she tapped her chin in thought, "I guess it's anko dumplings, umeboshi and anmitsu."

"You seem to like sweets," Itachi commented, "and you dislike…?"

"I don't like spicy food, I never have," she shook her head only thinking about it.

"Yet you have such a fiery personality," he snickered, satisfied with her reaction.

She blushed and glared angrily at him, not about to tolerate such brute comments. "What's that supposed to mean?" she hissed, restraining the urge to bang her fists in the table.

He just continued to eat peacefully, pretending to concentrate on cutting precisely formed pieces of his fish. He listened to her displeased grumbles, finding it highly amusing that she was such a hypocrite, one second the loveliest girl, the next an angry tiger ready to devour you. But she was a vulnerable tiger, constantly leaving herself open for attacks. It excited him, and he knew he himself could easily hit the bull's-eye.

"I did not see your parents," he said, directing her attention to him instead of her inaudible rant.

She gave him a glazy look. "No, too-chan is in the states, for work. Kaa-chan is visiting an old friend over the weekend," she shrugged, continuing to slowly eat her food.

"So they are not aware of you being with me?" he asked, catching the slight stiffening of her arms.

"No, they're not," she said uncertainly.

"And your friend…Ino, was it?"

"Yeah, the pig," Sakura felt her brow twitch, "she had to go on a family dinner, but will make sure to corner you, and me, next time she lays eyes upon one of us, no matter what place or time."

"You seem to be troubled," he claimed, putting down his tableware.

"You don't want to be the object of her attention, I can tell you that," she explained, finding it to be enough for now.

"I'd rather be in the centre of _your _attention," it was the way he said it, it must have been, because she felt her cheeks heat up for unknown reasons. She had absolutely no reason to be embarrassed, he wasn't even inquiring anything! …was he?

"Do I want to know what you mean by that?" she asked carefully at last, daring an uncertain look at him. She immediately regretted it when she saw the naughty glint in his orbs.

"Once again, I don't think it would be appropriate to answer that question here," he smirked, his lips speaking of mischievous and sinful plans.

Her mouth went dry, memories of the time in the classroom flashing in her head, making her outside turn red like her dress. "You're very evil, you know," she mumbled miserably. She drank a big gulp of her club soda, trying to entertain her mind with counting the stings on her tongue instead of thinking about _other_ matters.

Itachi felt that he had her caged in a corner. "Exactly what makes you think so, _ohime-sama_?"

She froze up, unable to let go of the glass she had just set down. Her green eyes were basically doll like, stiff and empty, until her comprehension surged up to the surface. "_Uchiha, what the hell are you talking about_?" she asked, her mouth quivering. She had no idea why she was feeling so dangerously weak and exposed, or even how he made her feel that way.

"I don't listen to that name, as I have informed you previously," the sadistic smile had her insides freeze to hot ice. She shifted her legs uncomfortably, trying to stop the interfering redness in her face.

"I wonder why I don't hate you yet…" she grumbled, glaring down at the napkin on her lap.

"Funny, I myself was just wondering about something related to that," he said, and smirked when she took the bait.

"And what was that?"

"Why have you agreed to this dinner?" he blinked with those superhuman long eyelashes, his red eyes locking with her green ones.

Her mouth went dry once again, and a shiver rolled up her spine. How could his gaze be so hot, but still make her feel like ice? She nervously tucked her bang behind her ear. Her heart was speeding up, "because…you intrigue me, I guess. Exactly what do you otherwise expect of a girl you kissed silly at two opportunities?"

"I expect her to detest me, in fact. I did after all force you," he said, completely honest.

"How could you have forced me when I was willing? Or…somewhat, at the very least. You can hardly be blamed for rape," she confessed meekly, her cheeks heating up.

"I made you willing."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Was he trying to accuse himself for unlawful acts? As far as she knew, he hadn't done much wrong. Of course you shouldn't go and make out with a student whenever you feel like it--and you should surely not undress them in their sleep--but he had asked her, and stopped when she wanted him to. The fact that she fell asleep and didn't object to him undressing her was solely her own fault, and he had not done anything vulgar as far as she was aware. Everything she remembered was that he had flirted with her, and surely that was not something punishable by law?

"What do you mean 'made' me? I was…well, not completely willing from the start, but I don't feel offended. At least not over the top anyway," she mumbled, trying to avert his eyes to somewhere else than her.

"Precisely. I made you comply to my cravings, and I suppose that is sometimes considered disgraceful. And, I took you home when I just as easily could have called kaa-san or Sasuke to ask where you lived," he explained, twirling his glass around in his hand.

"However, I would have been outraged if you had chosen to end it there," she choose to keep quiet about the part where she would be heartbroken.

"I see. So you are eager to continue this affair?" he asked huskily, the guilt stricken behavior gone like the wind.

She frowned at him, Uchiha Itachi was playing at something, and she better guard herself carefully or he will score goal. "I wouldn't call it an affair…" she said suspiciously, squinting.

He was pleased with the fact that she was ready bare her claws at him. "I wouldn't agree, Sakura. I think we are beyond the point of friends going out for dinner together. I would describe our relation as '_friends with benefits_'," this man was a dangerous existence.

"_Friend with benefits_? Of course we aren't! I doubt I have given you any 'benefits'!" she hissed, wondering where his formerly sweet persona had gone.

"There you are wrong, Sakura. I have had quite a generous taste of you, as well as a pleasing look," Itachi had always been a man who liked to play with destiny, but indulging with this petite female was far more interesting. He could almost see the sparks flying around in her eyes.

"Didn't you say you didn't do anything to me?" she asked angrily.

"I didn't, but undergarments only cover a small portion of your body, Sakura, and I don't need to take them off to imagine what's beneath," she gasped at his straightforward comment, her entire body transforming into a tomato.

"Y-you bastard!" she said before she could stop herself, and received a few curious glances.

"You might want to keep your voice down, I am sure there are more ears than mine who enjoy listening to you," the black haired devil said, giving her a particularly heavy stare.

"I'm beginning to hate you now, Uchiha…" she said, tears of frustration threatening to reveal themselves and destroy her makeup.

"Oh? I can make you change your opinion that rapidly? Then, I know what I am going to use this advantageous ability to next…" his voice revealed his oh-so not innocent thoughts. Normally, preys try to escape when face to face with a predator, but not Sakura, because she had not yet realized she was equal to a piece of fine meat to this man sitting opposite of her. However, he would make sure she would be more than aware of it in due time.

He snapped his fingers and stared at the waiter who had served them until he ran away to get the check. "I think it's about time for us to leave, is it not, Sakura?" he calmly took his wallet out, having his credit card ready when the tab was presented to him.

"Why do you seem to be in a hurry, all of a sudden?" she raised an distrustful brow on him.

"I think it is unnecessary to waste time here when we might as well talk more freely within the walls of my house," he lowered his voice, "and there are a few…_mosquitoes_ who are very interested in what you have to say."

She blinked a few times, her green eyes lit up with wonder. Then she looked around, and found that everyone seemed a bit _too aware _of them. She blushed slightly. "I guess you're right…" she confessed meekly, pouting.

"Sir, here is your card," the waiter said, smiling as he handed the plastic pawn over.

Itachi briefly examined the card before returning it to the folder in his pocketbook. He then got up, moving to pull out the young woman's chair too. "My lady," he mumbled as she got up, knowing that he got jealous and disappointed glances from all over the room. He found it rather interesting that the one exposed to his unusually kind gestured seemed to experience them as nothing but annoying.

"There's no need for you to do that, I am perfectly capable of standing up on my own," she huffed, taking her coat and bag which she had hung on the chair she had been sitting on.

He simply smirked in response, and put his arm around her waist to lead her out. He was pleased with her shying away, but that didn't mean she would get anywhere. He simply pressed her closer to him, letting her hip brush against his as they walked to his car.

"What's with the sudden proximity?" she gave him a slightly disgruntled face.

"I wouldn't want you to be freezing to death before we get to the car," he said while letting the guard open the door, making a harsh and chilling gust of wind hit them, immediately turning the small female's skin blue. The fine hair on her arms stood up and the shivers running up her spine were very unpleasant. Luckily--if you were anyone other than Sakura--her chevalier was quick to the rescue and lessened the distance between them from little to nothing, letting her steal his body heat.

"It's kind of hard to walk when we're like this, Uchiha-san…" she commented, trying her best not to let her hips touch his to much.

"I would be glad to carry you, Sakura," he smirked, "it would give me the opportunity to touch your soft thighs…"

"I'm warning you, if you as much as try to put your fingers on my thigh I will kill you," she warned him when they reached the car and she sat down.

"I'd die as a happy man," he said and walked around the car to get in on the other side.

"Are you dead-set on smirking at me even in your death?" she rolled her eyes when she saw his face.

"In fact, yes," he admitted and drove up the street.

"I take it you don't care about the fact that I don't enjoy watching you smirk?"

"Not at all," she scoffed at his attitude, finding his confident way to disturbing to deal with. This resulted in the rest of the trip to be in silence, until she noticed that they were not heading towards her house, that is.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking out the window.

"To my house," he responded.

"What? But--

"Relax, Sakura. I will take you home in due time," he said and turned down on his street, "it is still early." Her eyes flew to the display on the radio, and saw that it was just past nine. Yet, she frowned.

"Naruto will panic if I'm not at home by ten. And you saw how hard he can be to deal with," she grumbled, seeing his house closing in rapidly.

"I will take care of him for you," he offered as he pulled up on his driveway and stopped, turning the engine off.

"Oh yes, you did that _beautifully _before," she rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car, following him to the entrance to his house. She shivered as the cold wind blew under her skirt, and shivered violently. When he finally unlocked the door she was walking with her nose in his back, wanting to get inside a soon as possible. She was in such a hurry that she didn't notice that he stopped to turn around and close the door, causing her to awkwardly bump into him.

"Sorry," she mumbled, fumbling after the door knob behind her. Just as she grabbed it with her pale fingers a larger, warm palm settled over her stiff joints.

"It's alright, Sakura," his voice sounded strange, as it he was unbelievably annoyed by her awkwardness. She tried to catch his gaze, but found it flickering from her as he took of his shoes.

The silence laid heavily between them when he entered the kitchen, hoping that she was able to take off her high heels without dislocating her ankle. "Would you like to have anything to drink?" he asked, opening the fridge.

"No thank you, I'm fine," she said and entered the kitchen, absentmindedly noting that he had rearranged the table away from the window to the middle of the room. More chairs were placed by the sides. "Are you going to have guests over soon?" she asked.

"No, my mother came by the other day and decided that the table suited much better there than by the window," he confirmed and looked through the many cupboards for something. Funny, a man like Itachi gave the impression of being extremely well organized. "You can go to the living room if you want to."

"You're sure you don't need help looking for whatever you're looking for?" she asked, rather amused about the fact that he was rechecking the drawers.

"No, thank you. I will join you in a moment," he said and finally found a small object that he fished up with those long fingers.

"Alright," Sakura smiled and went to the living room, wondering what strange squeaking sound she heard from the domestic area she just left. But she didn't give it much thought when she settled in Itachi's very comfy sofa. It had been just as pleasant to sit in this time as the last was what she was thinking as she turned on the television.

She flipped through the many channels, until she accidentally saw a panda and its babies blink past her vision, and had to stop and watch them for a few seconds. She had always been weak to animals, and the fact that pandas are incredibly cute only made her softer. But then, entirely unexplained, the picture switched to some kind of monkey in the mountains, showing her red faces and white fur, as well as…cooties being picked from them by a fellow family member. She wrinkled her nose and continued to see what was on the other channels.

That is, until Itachi settled down beside her, without the jacket he had been wearing and the tie sloppily loosened around his neck, holding a glass filled with a dark liquid. In the dim light she couldn't see the color, but when he brought it to his lips the watery substance glimmered with red. Her eyes widened with realization.

"Is that wine?" she frowned.

He glanced at her. "It is," he confirmed, his tongue darting out to lick the reminding alcohol from his upper lip.

She gasped, "if you drink that you can't drive me home!" she turned in her seat and faced him with her body.

"I know, that was my intention," his blatant answer did nothing to clench her anger.

"You said you would take me home, bastard!" she growled, glaring at him.

He took another sip. "I said 'in due time'," he clarified.

"And that time is not tomorrow!" she hissed, about to snatch the glass away from his grasp.

"Sakura," his tone made her freeze up, her green gaze clashing with ruby, "just for tonight."

His eyes were close to pledging, but he was an Uchiha, so she had to limit the expression to _requesting_ for her to stay. And you made best in granting their wishes, so she settled down again, stubbornly watching the talk-show that was on. She was careful to show that she was not getting closer to him than she already was, therefore leaning against the armrest. Her brows were constantly fused together in a clear act of disgruntlement, and she mildly observed the host of the program playing in front of them.

She rolled her eyes at the exaggeratedly polite old man that was currently being interviewed. He was explaining a recent discovery within renewable energy, letting the host put in some confused or hard questions with the goal to get the scientist quiver in his position, but failed miserably when the man simply explained the information again. He was sure of what he was saying, and it made the woman interviewing him a little baffled that he was so confident in his claims.

"_Well, thank you, Jouichi-san, for coming here tonight, it was a pleasure having you,__"_ Sakura scoffed, that woman was lying through her teeth, _"__our next guest is someone most is very familiar with, a man who has done much for this country and the international security. Please welcome; Superintendent General Uchiha Fugaku!__"_

The audience erupted in a wild applause and a flood of praising screams as the qualified man walked up on the stage. With a vague smile he waved at the spectators before standing in front of the hostess and bowed. She gestured for him to sit down and smiled, _"__Uchiha-sama, it is a pleasure to have you here tonight.__"_

"_Thank you for having me,__"_ he responded.

"_So, I will go right to the point on why you are here tonight, Uchiha-sama. You are here to talk about your retirement and your son replacing you. It is a shame he could not join us this evening,__"_ she furrowed her brows in a sympathetic look.

"_Yes, it certainly is. My son is occupied with work for the evening, and could not join me, I am afraid,__"_ Fugaku said, sitting back in the armchair.

Sakura quickly shifted her eyes to the man next to her as the conversation continued on the screen. He sure did not seem to be disturbed by work at the moment. "Is your father lying or is the channel lying when they call this live?" she asked suspiciously.

"Neither," Itachi replied, blinking heavily.

"It's gotta be one or the other, you're sitting right here," she narrowed her eyes at him.

He let his eyelids fall down, "I have been working overtime for a few days, I finished this afternoon."

"Oh…" she let the matter hang between them as she didn't want to converse with him at the moment.

"_Tell us, when will your soon succeed you on your __'__throne__'__?__"_ Fugaku made a chuckle.

"_Having this position is not like having a throne, it__'__s hard work, long days and complicated matters constantly being served. However, Itachi is planning to take the post this spring, soon after news year,__"_ the authorized man explained.

"_What hopes do you have for your son? What is it that you leave behind that you want him to pick up and continue to built on?__"_ the hostess asked after a few agreeing sounds.

"_I hope for him to act at his very best, make choices for the majority of the civilians and the employees. As for my own foundations, I simply hope he will continue to build on them to create a safer environment for every soul walking on Japanese soil,__"_ his comment was met with enthusiastic applauses, and the audience stood up.

Once again, the pink haired girl let her perception stray from the display and settled it on the aggravating man sitting beside her. He was still holding the empty glass in his right hand, intently observing the conversation on the TV, but it still seemed like he was looking at something far beyond it, as if it was nothing but air in front of him. His gaze was unfocused and his face was tensed. In fact, his whole body seemed strangely stiff, even if he had one arm thrown up on the back of the sofa. She also took note of the deep lines in his cheeks, ones that had seemed so natural on him she had never bothered to pay much attention to them.

But now the shadows on his entire body made him look worn out, exhausted and so very unlike the strong man she had come to known, the confident and intimidating man she had spent the evening with. This was most likely a side he was not willing to show to just anyone, and since she was sitting next to him right now she felt…special about it.

She shifted, moving her legs beneath herself. Slowly she turned on the spot, coming close to the raven haired beauty. Her heart sped up when he still seemed to be somewhere else, as if he wasn't aware of her proximity. She nervously put her lip between her teeth and chewed lightly on it. Her arms shook as she raised them. Gently she placed a hand on his face, nudging his head to turn to her. The empty, aloof hue on his irises disappeared when he faced her.

Truly, those lines were deeper, his lids kept half open. Her other hand came up to cup his jaw. Her smooth and soft thumbs moved to stroke beneath his eyes and cheeks. His long lashes fell down before rising up to watch her as she continued to unknowingly massage his skin. The yielding pads on her fingers caressed his eyelids when he shut them for her, letting a sigh pass through the opening in his mouth.

Next she shifted closer to him still, and let her digits comb through his black locks. His smooth bangs fell before his eyes, leaving the red shining through the dark texture. She marveled at the silky feel and undid the ponytail at the nape of his neck to let his hair hang freely. She brushed a few strands over his shoulder and a picture of spilled ink flashed before her mind's eye. She held the dark tresses in between her fingers harshly, as if he would vanish if she let go.

Her green orbs flickered from back to his face, where she was captivated within his powerful gaze. All thoughts of what she should or should not do flew out the window as she leaned in towards him, lowering her eyelids as she shyly placed her mouth on his. The touch was light, some might even say they barely touched each other, but it still sent tingles through their bodies.

Sakura drew back, once again placing her hands around his face. She didn't smile, neither of them did. No emotion played in their orbs. They just sat and watched one another closely.

Slowly, Itachi let his left hand come up and brush against her cheek, feeling the velvety softness. His calloused fingers lingered on her cheek, not attempting to pull her closer. He was patiently waiting for her to willingly come to him again, putting the urge to hold her aside. And true enough, his decision soon paid off as she once again brought their faces together.

This time the touch was more than feather light. This time it was like a jolt of electricity that made their hearts speed up, banging hard against their chest as if expressing their urge to get closer to the other. The contact between their bodies lasted longer than any of their kisses hand, being still for minutes in the same position. Everything else than the two of them was drowned out, they existed in their own world right now, nothing disturbing them.

Then she left his lips, staring at his warm ruby irises. She still wore no emotion when she opened her mouth, "Itachi."

He could have moaned when the hoarse sound of his name came from her throat, but he found his voice lost somewhere he could not finding as he searched her eyes and face for some kind of…_something_. It was the first time she had called his name willingly, out of her own accord.

Uncertainty flashed over her face before it disappeared again. She was still so close their breath mingled. "Itachi…"

"…I think I'm starting to love you," the whisper was almost inaudible even at their short distance.

His eyes widened, and he could see the fear of being rejected reflect in hers. Her cheeks tinted red, and her mouth trembled slightly. Once again they froze in their position, staring.

* * *

A/N: Forst of all, I have to say; I'M SORRY!! I hope all of you can forgive me for my tardiness, but life was persistant in getting in my way :( School, family, activites and a temporary fandom drop-out put me off track, but now I am back! I can calm you with that I have written at the very least a third of the next chapter, so I hope to have it up soon :)

Thank you all who has endured the long wait and has encuraged me, I love you all!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

**Bureaucracy **

_Really, what kind of people were those who had Tokyo__'__s safety in their hands?_

Sakura yelped when the train turned and a man stumbled into her. He mumbled his sorry and proceeded to grab a rake in the ceiling. She gave him a flat smile before staring out the window, not seeing anything but the occasional lights and darkness flash by. It had been a while since she took the subway, and she had remembered why when the vessel had been packed with humans of all sizes and ages. The worst part of it; she couldn't be sure if those fingers brushing against her were meaning to do so or not.

"_Next station: Kasumigaseki Central,"_ a woman declared through the speakers placed strategically throughout the train. She sighed in relief, carefully making her way closer to the doors as the speed they traveled in became slower. She couldn't wait to get out of the hot and cramped area, not to speak of the moment she could breathe air with oxygen again.

The doors slid open and hundreds of people welled out the many openings in the subway train, as others tried to get in at the same time. This chaotic scene reminded Sakura of why she had begun walking to and from school, people pushing and bumping into another, not to speak of their awful attitude. She quietly followed the stream that soon started to move against the rolling stairs. She kept back a huff when a man was determined to stand on the same step as her for the long ride upwards.

When she finally got out on the street, where she was not forced to grind herself against unknown people, she was ready to let out a scream, but just like all the other passengers she refrained herself. Instead she hurried over the street, letting a mass of other people help her stop the cars. Most were dressed in business suits, probably on their way to work. Few to none youths in sailor uniform were visible.

With a shiver at the cold wind blowing she turned to the left, and walked faster when she saw the grand entrance she was about to walk through. She jumped up the steps before catching the opening in the rotation door. She frowned at the slow pace, and slipped through the small passage that was created when the machine had turned half a circle.

The interior of the reception was intimidating, and she noted that whoever had tried to make it feel more welcoming with the red sofas placed by the wall and in the middle of the room had failed miserably. But putting that aside she immediately walked up to the receptionist, clearing her throat to get his attention.

With a surprised look he turned towards her, "may I help you?"

"Yes, I'm here to talk to Uchiha Itachi…" she didn't really know how to develop her request when he stared strangely at her.

"Excuse me?" he almost laughed at her, taking her for a normal girl who was randomly asking to meet his superior.

"I am here to speak to Uchiha--

"I heard you the first time, miss," he chuckled, "but Uchiha-sama is not just someone you can meet just like that." He was mocking her, and she knew it**, **but she sucked it up**.**

"I know that, but he wanted me to come here, so here I am," she said, still wearing a polite expression.

The man raised an eyebrow and pushed his glasses up. "Alright, I will call upstairs and see if he is expecting anyone," he scuffed and grabbed the phone, dialing three numbers. "Ah, hello, My-san, it is Kashima in the reception. Yes, yes, I am fine. I was wondering if Uchiha-sama is expecting anyone?" his nose wrinkled, before he said thank you and goodbye.

"So?" she asked.

"Uchiha-sama is waiting for you on the sixteenth floor. Walk down the corridor and take two rights, then at the end of that corridor you have his office," seemingly disgruntled he reached down into a drawer and pulled up a card that said 'guest'. "This is for the elevator. Return it when you leave."

She took the card and bowed before jogging to the elevator. The doors closed when she put the card into the reader and pressed the button having a big zero and a five printed to it. The thrilling sensation of gravity wanting to keep her from rising up above the ground had her tingling. But it soon disappeared, but it came back when the lift stopped. Surprised at the quick travel she stumbled out on solid floor again.

A number of doors lined the corridor she walked down, and she actually took her time reading all the names. None of them were familiar to her, even if she knew someone named Nara she didn't recognize the given name. One walked out of his office and was surprised to see her, but greeted her politelynone the less. She responded him lightly, turning around the corner. Now she was walking with a wall of glass on her right, seeing humans shuffle around on the street. A couple of street performers were doing an acrobatic number. How they were able to do it with only tricots on was beyond her.

She was so absorbed by the impressive flips and flops that she didn't notice the other person she bumped into was coming around the corner. She let out a squeak, and nearly fell backwards, only barely saved by a hand gripping her forearm. She gasped and immediately started to apologize when she saw the papers lying on the floor.

"Sakura…?" the voice had her stilling, because it was so very familiar. She raised her gaze to stare at the face of the person still holding on to her.

Her eyes widened when seeing red hair and chocolate orbs, "Sasori…nii-chan?" Her voice was breathless when she saw her older relative. They stood in a few moments staring at each other before Sasori let a smile play on his lips.

"I see you're still as clumsy as before," he teased her and tapped her nose, like he did when she was a kid.

"I am not!" she protested angrily.

"As long as you're my cousin you are," he said and eloped her in a hug, ignoring the fact that he stepped on a few documents.

"Stupid nii-chan," she giggled and returned the embrace. "Wait a moment, aren't you supposed to be stationed in Osaka?"

"I was until a few weeks ago. I came back here, since I couldn't stand the boss over there. And also, all my friends and family are here, so I see no point in moving," he said and straightened his back, because he had to lean down to embrace her properly.

"Why didn't you tell us? All this time I've been wondering what you've been up to," she shook her pink locks and giggled, excited over seeing her cousin again.

"I guess I forgot, in the haste I moved and everything that had been going on around here lately," he ruffled her hair and lifted her up and planted a kiss on her lips, just like he had always done since they were small.

Sakura couldn't be much happier at the moment, until she heard a familiar hum coming from behind her cousin. She broke the contact of their mouths and looked over his shoulder to see ice cold rubies observe them. She blushed deeply, seeing his fingers tap against his leg, as if he had been watching them for a while.

"How nice that you could drop by, Sakura. If you are done seducing my fellow employees I would like to have a word with you," Itachi was not very willing in hearing any kind of explanation he noted that she was about to throw at him, so he grabbed her wrist and almost yanked her away from her cousin. "I will be borrowing her, _Sasori_," the way he said the red haired man's name reminded her of a dog growling at an imposing threat.

Before Sasori had the time to object to the sudden abduction of his missed relative she was quickly dragged down the corridor towards a door with a golden plate, his name engraved into the metal. First they passed through a smaller room, with a beautiful exotic-looking secretary surprised at their hasty appearance.

"You should help Sasori arrange his papers, My," he commanded her, and headed for the door on her left, throwing it open. He pulled her inside before shutting it again with a loud bang. Then he slammed her against the wall, almost painfully hard.

She let out a groan when her head hit the rough surface. Her vision was slightly deranged when she looked up at him, but it didn't stop her from seeing the outraged expression on his face. She could practically see the lightning roaring behind his hard irises. His hand came up and stroke her hair tenderly, before grabbing it harshly at her neck, tilting her face upwards, barring her throat for him. _Frightening_.

He crashed his lips to hers, pushing her against the wall with his body. He forced his way inside her mouth and invaded it with his wet tongue. He rubbed it against hers, making her mewl at the sheer force of possessiveness he was putting in every move of his muscles. Her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling herself up to met him and his lips. The loss of air had her eyes water, but she could care less now that she was being claimed by this ravenous man.

She let out an unhappy moan when he left her lips. A long string of saliva still connected them as they panted after their furious make out. Her cheeks were pink as she looked hazily at him.

"What was that for?" she asked breathily, trying to raise herself to his lips again.

"I think you know what, _Sakura_," he said hoarsely, stroking her fragile throat with his fingers, "_I do not like sharing_."

The silent threat he was giving her had her shiver with excitement, and she took a quivering breath. "I don't really see what you mean… I'm not giving myself to any other…" she whispered, moaning submissively when he pressed against her larynx.

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't humor me, Sakura. Exactly what do you think is not wrong about kissing another man?" he hm-ed, pressing closer to her.

"Reuniting," she whimpered, feeling her own vulnerability as his hand crept around her neck.

"Reuniting you say?" his voice was dark, murderous. She could feel the vibrating of his chest when he chuckled, "and that you have to do with a kiss? What is he to you? A lover?"

The intense jealousy was draping her in a shaded coat of fear, one she had never experienced before. "Y-you know I have never done it, Itachi…" she pleaded, remembering how she had told him she was not ready to lose her virginity yet when they went to bed the previous weekend.

"A lover does not have to be someone you have had sexual contact with," he slip his fingers down to the buttons on her school uniform jacket. "What are your feelings for him, Sakura?"

The tone was surprisingly light, but she tried to choose her words wisely, "love, but--

"Love you say?" he opened the white jacket's first button, "have you told him you love him too?"

"Of course, he's my--

"Ah, I see," the suddenly dead voice had her heart skip a beat, out of fear. "So you enjoy playing with men?"

"Itachi, listen to me…" she begged, grabbing the hand that was about to open her shirt. She was breathing erratically, fear of what he _could_ do to her making her messed up. "Sasori is my…nii-chan is my cousin," she confessed, not daring to look up at him.

Lucky her she didn't, the judging look he gave her would have broken her heart. "Is that so?"

She nodded. "I haven't seen him in so long… And we… we used to kiss all the time as children…" she gathered her courage to turn her face upwards to meet his stare. "I love him as a brother, Itachi," she gently tugged at his face to make him come closer to her, and gently placed a kiss on his stiff lips.

His expression didn't change, but he hoisted her up so she was resting against his hips. He moved her legs to tell her hand wrap them around him, and she obeyed enthusiastically. "Even if he is your cousin I do not like lending what belongs to me to anyone else… and for giving yourself away so willingly calls for a punishment," his voice was like crushed velvet, and she had to bite her lip to not moan.

"What do you mean by 'punishment'?" she asked shyly, gasping when he lifted her off the wall and walked over to his desk. He kissed her as he cleared the chestnut board from all kinds of material before setting her down on it.

The kiss they shared this time was so much gentler than the previous one, the possessiveness was still there, yes, but he was considerate, as if apologizing for his immature behavior. She moaned when he set a hand on her chest, adding pressure to the touch as they indulged in each other's pleasure. She could feel his arousal nudging against the inner side of her thigh, and she gasped.

He didn't let her break the kiss to object to their activities, however. His hand had undone her buttons on her shirt and was stroking her warm stomach gently. The feather touch had her giggling into their kiss, and she tightened her hold on his neck. But she wouldn't giggle so much if she knew what her partner was thinking at the moment…

Sneakily, almost unnoticeably he moved his hand to cup her breast, and squeezed it, much to her surprise. Her gasp caused her to break the contact of their faces, and she glared at him, "Itachi!"

"Don't tell me you still don't want to," he said, muttering in disgruntlement at her rejection.

"It's been _four days _since I told you the last time!" she hissed, "do you always listen selectively?!"

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said, sighing as he sat back in his chair. He motioned for her to sit on his lap. She blushed and frowned, suspecting him to do something again, but heeded his wish for her to place her soft thighs on his hard ones. She wrapped and arm around his neck, giving him a kiss on his temple.

"What did you call me for?" she asked, as she absentmindedly combed his hair with her fingers.

"I simply wanted to see you," he said and put his arms around her waist. He was looking at her face, but soon his eyes trailed down to the skin exposed by the opened shirt. His red orbs glazed over as he drank in all the exposed skin. His stare was angering the innocent vixen in his lap.

"The more you stare, the longer until you get any," she muttered, hastily working the loose buttons on her shirt, "it makes me feel like I'm just an object…"

He smiled at her childish grumpiness, and nuzzled her neck. He pulled her to his chest, kissing her pale skin. "You're an object I am quite found of, then," he said, lowering his lashes.

She huffed, blushing slightly. She felt her heart beat fast, her mind flashing back to the late Friday evening when she told him she _just might _be starting to like him. She had not gotten an answer from him, because the lead-weighted silence between them had been abruptly disturbed when her phone had gone off. On the other end of the line Naruto had been hysterically wondered why she had not come home yet, and why her voice had been pitching so strangely. He had, of course, feared the worst and suspected that he had just interrupted some kind of crazy bed play, and started a frenzy in her house.

She had tried to assure him that they had not done anything at all, but was not believed when she stuttered. Sasuke had then stolen the receiver from his boyfriend and talked to her, only sheer brotherly jealousy revealing his inner turmoil of emotion. However, he had almost started to believe her, as well as convincing the blonde madman going on a rampage the same thing. That is, until his brother sneaked up behind her and made quick work of a hickey on her shoulder. Of course this had set off a chain reaction of yelps, screams and tripping, leaving the three childhood friends in panic, and amazement in how a single man who had not murdered (or had he?) could cause such havoc.

"Naruto is still going to kill you, you know?" she said and rested her head against his as she observed the many diplomas and nominations hanging on his wall.

He chuckled, "A man like him could never do that."

"And what exactly do you mean with that?"

"A uke cannot touch a seme," his naughty comment made Sakura jump, she was almost horrified by his attitude, and saw that he was very well aware of that.

"Excuse me?" she said and furrowed her brows in confusion. Itachi was gay? Had he mistaken her for a male? He seemed to read her mind.

"No, Sakura, I am not gay. That gene was given to Sasuke. If you want me to prove it I'd be more than happy too--

"No, thanks," she responded harshly.

"A seme is the dominant one in a relationship, _any _relationship, and I think you have known enough Uchiha's to know we would never…_submit_ ourselves to anyone?" he could have laughed at her comical expression, and broadened his smirk.

"Still, uke and seme… it sounds so _wrong_ coming from you…" she wrinkled her nose when he leaned back.

"I am sorry if I offended you, Sakura," he mocked her, but she didn't even get angry, since he was obviously inviting her to rest against his body. And she did have a rough day, so she decided to accept his invite. She rested her nose by the crook of his neck, and connected her small, cold hand with his large, hot one. His calloused fingers gently squeezed hers as he pulled her closer to him with his other arm. She closed her eyes and breathed the masculine scent he emitted**, **something resembling rainwater that calmed her senses.

She was starting to doze off when suddenly the door was thrown open and a small collection of people stormed through it. In the lead was a blonde man with long hair, together with her cousin and a man she had not seen in a while, Uchiha Shisui.

"Oh dear god, you were right, My-chan!!" the black haired male gasped when he saw his cousin and childhood friend cuddling.

"Uchiha Itachi, you better let go of my adorable imoto right now!" Sasori threatened, his chocolate eyes narrowing to thin slits.

"That is your cousin?! Damn, she's one sweet piece of cherry pie, un!" the blond declared.

"Shut up, Deidara," the redhead growled.

"Now, now, you're intimidating her!" the voice of a female rose from behind the arguing men. The low tone had a strange accent, almost as if the person was skipping vocals. The secretary, whom Sakura now noted was quite a beauty (much to her chagrin), pushed between the irritated males and smiled absolutory, "sorry, Itachi, I couldn't stop them."

Itachi seemed more than a bit disturbed by the interruption, and glared angrily. "Gentlemen, do you need anything?" he asked.

"Yes, I need you to let go of Sakura," Sasori challenged his junior (but still superior) workmate.

"I'd rather not," when two fiercely protective _and _possessive men faced off against each other there was only one way to solve the conflict, someone had to step in.

"Nii-san, it's alright, he's not a lolicon freak," she turned to the man she was sitting on, "at least I don't think so."

He chuckled, "if you want me to, I could become one."

The pink haired teenager did not seem to be the only one disturbed by the high-ranked officers distinctive courting. "Is your family drawn to strange and freaky people or something? I mean, first a medium, and now a psychopath, un?" the blond, seeming to be named Deidara, asked.

"Excuse me?" Sasori and the brown haired woman said at the same time.

"You twohave been together fartoo long," Shisui said.

"Speak for yourself," the annoyed detective snapped, "and you, Itachi, you better get your hands of her soon."

"What? You have the right to touch your girlfriend and I don't get to touch mine? And as you see, _Sakura _is not objecting," as if to clear his point he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently.

If her cousin had not been such a composed person as he was, he would have been as red in the face as his hair. "You son of a--

"Sasori," the woman standing by him put a calming hand on his shoulder, "Itachi is just trying to get to you."

Sighing, Sakura got off the muscular legs she was sitting on, and awkwardly buttoned her uniform jacket. The Uchiha seemed more than a little displeased by her actions.

"It's not fair the Uchiha's get all the hot chicks! And why are all of them related to Sasori, un?!" Deidara cried, crossing his arms angrily.

"Better an Uchiha than a maniac bomber," the redhead snarled.

"Excuse me?! Exactly who saved thousands of people by disarming a subway bomb? What have those done? Employed you? Heh, they must be crazy, un," the strange suffix the blonde added was puzzling the rosette, and thereby annoying her.

"Shut up, you bimbo!" Shisui hit the blonde in the back of his head, thereby starting a smaller wrestling game between them.

Ignoring the two three year olds in grown men's bodies, Sasori walked up to his cousin and grabbed her hand. He was about to drag her out of the office when he noticed her other hand still being connected to his boss. "Come on, Sakura, I'll take you home," he coaxed her into following him by tugging at her arm, but she was uncertainly standing still.

"It seems Sakura prefer to stay, Sasori," Itachi confirmed, pleased with the fact that his little doll was not very eager to obey the command she had been given.

"Do you want me to crush that pretty little face of yours?"

"Isn't your motto 'art is eternal'?" those long lashes fluttered teasingly.

The red head felt his face twist into a disgusted grimace. "Your face is as much art as the emperor is Amaterasu's son," he snarled.

"Oh, stop it!" Sakura yelled and yanked her hands free, glaring at the surprised males. "If you want to be just as immature as those two," she pointed at the still fighting men on the floor, "keep me out of it!"

A heavy silence settled around them. Stern stares were exchanged, and everyone stood unmoving, that is, until two people couldn't stand the intense air. "I can't take this, damn it!!" Shisui and the brown haired girl screamed at the same time.

"You're an Uchiha, you should be able to take silence!" she complained.

"You're from the north, you should be able to handle silence better than me!" the spiky hairs fluttered across his face as he turned.

"Of course not! Do you know how much theytalk over there?!" she growled in frustration.

"What the hell…?" Sakura asked, and looked to her cousin for an explanation.

Sasori sighed. "Those two never get along, My and Shisui that is. My is a Nordic, and doesn't get along very well with the idiot," the bickering continued to ease the tension in the room, and the blonde man started to laugh.

"You're just as serious as always, Sasori-danna, un!"

_Really, that the hell is up with that suffix?!_

"Not everyone can be a goofball who mistakes the victim for the perpetrator," the scuff that followed spoke or itself; _you__'__re an idiot_.

"It was _one. Fucking. Time!_" Deidara growled.

"It was an attempted _rape_," Sasori sighed, "who is most plausible to have been exposed to such a crime? A woman who is crying, shaking and is inhaling opioids or a man in a police car with his hands tied together with a pair of handcuffs?"

"You bastard, un! I'm going to--

"I have to say I would go with the man, if I do say so myself," Sakura said, making five sets of eyes settle on her, "What?"

Shisui and My broke out laughing, while her cousin and boyfriend settled with a smirk. "Excuse me, but what's so funny?" she frowned.

"Nothing, koi. It's nothing," Itachi waved it off and stood up. He grabbed her hand and looked at his secretary, "My-san, would you please prepare some coffee, please."

"Fine, go ahead, demand me to do all your dirty work," she turned with a foxy smile and left the room, followed by Deidara who muttered something about rubbing off, explosions, caffeine and sugar.

"No, no, no, Sasori, you can't kill him now, we're in a _police station_," Shisui said comprehensibly, "let's go down to the garage and put one of those bombs in his car that goes off when you turn the key!"

"You have an excellent point there, Shisui," Sasori smirked, the black haired man he was stabbing with his gaze seemingly didn't acknowledge it.

"Deidara will be suspected, because everyone knows he hates Itachi and loves explosions," with a content grin the Uchiha nodded.

"Shisui, if you want to kill me, you shouldn't talk about it within my hearing range," the red eyes of the sub-master of the police department gleamed warningly.

His cousin made a nervous laugh, and put his hands in front of himself defensively. He didn't say anything, which was unusual for his personality, however, he did grumble something after that.

"Stupid, arrogant, bureaucrat…"

* * *

Word count: 4 379

Waaaah! I'm so sorry for the wait! Even though I said I would have it up quickly! But I thank all those who have reviewed, you really give me energy to write!

I apologize, but as many can relate to; life has a bothering habit to get in one's way. That's why it's not a long chapter. And besides, I feel that the rest that I had planned would just have been meaningless chatter… And I hate fillers, so writing this damned filler-chapter was a pain in the behind.

Oh yeas, how do you like evil Itachi? Or should I say; Itachi the bastard? I was so angry when I wrote the part where he practically _abused _Sakura. Yup, I get too emotional!

I promise that the next chapter will be longer, because it's one I have been yearning to write!!

Everyone, You have to be thankful to my awsomistic beta too! Dolls is so fast and awsome :D

You know, if you review, I will write faster :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

**Partner Christmas**

_They were brought closer by something that tore them apart_

It was the day before Christmas, and the students sat in their seats, itching for their tardy teacher to call it a day. But, of course, Kakashi-sensei had to be to swallowed up by the pornographic book their sub-master had written years ago. He had even taken off his usual eye patch over his scarred left eye to read the vertical lines, and snicker beneath his mask. When he put his feet on top of the desk he was sitting by a long sigh soared through the air.

No one dared say anything, because Kakashi-sensei might be lazy, but it was nothing that stopped him from being a bastard from time to time. He scratched his head as if wondering something, but soon his eyes narrowed in a happy-face. He absentmindedly tapped his fingers against the history book on his desk. Few knew why he was carrying it around, but Sakura, as well as her two best friends, who had been under the _tender_ care of their sensei for years, knew. It was not so that he could quickly find some ethic dilemma, but it was to hide his precious porn from the gaze of the dean. He had glued all the pages together and cut a hole in them, a hole big enough to hide his extravagant orange book full of warning symbols on the cover. He knew he couldn't punish the three which he had under his care too hard, because he couldn't risk they told the head mistress about his secret.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! We've gone overtime!" Naruto burst out when he couldn't bare it anymore. One minute extra in these godforsaken chairs was too much for him to handle!

With a raise of his eyebrows the grey-haired man in his late twenties blinked and looked at the clock hanging on the wall (he was too lazy to put one on his arm). He nodded, put his bookmark on the page he was and settled his feet on the floor where they belonged. "Alright everyone, on Tuesday I want a full report on the Nazi ethics and idealism on four pages or more," the words 'or more' always meant 'if you don't give more than what I said you will fail', "happy Christmas."

The students returned his greeting with a hurl of screams and panicked scrambling with pens and books. Even Sakura, who was always the one last to leave hurried more than usual. She took the thick booklet she had written at home and walked up to the teacher's desk. He seemed surprised to see the white paper with the words 'Nazi ethics and idealism' written in big, fat letters.

"Merry Christmas, Kakashi-sensei!" she smiled and was about to run out the door when he called her.

"Sakura, are you already done?" he asked. Usually, his pink haired protégé only turned her assignments in the day they were due to, to make sure she didn't let faults, unnecessary or false facts ruin her essay.

"Yeah, I want to be free for the weekend, for once," she smiled broadly, a pink blush tinting her cheeks.

"Something good's happening?" he asked, quite puzzled with her cheery mode.

"Something very good," she confessed in a low voice, giggling excitedly.

Kakashi-sensei frowned in confusion at first, but then quickly came to a conclusion, "is your boyfriend going to celebrate the holidays with you?"

"He is," her grin widened, "and my family will come too!"

"I see. You will have to give Sasori and Amarante my greetings, I have not seen them for quite a while. And Shisui too, if he is still together with her," he smiled as his student nodded excitedly, "and tell your boyfriend I will personally break his spine if he tries anything."

She laughed, remembering that her sensei was an old karate champion. "Don't worry, sensei, he has been able to resist so far. And he's…well… the noble type," she happily chirped and strutted towards the door.

"What's his name?" for some reason, Kakashi felt he was going to have a love-hate relationship to whoever the lucky man was.

"Itachi," she said and walked out the door, giggling when she heard a thud, probably coming from the orange book hitting the floor.

"Sakura-chan, what's taking you so long? It's a long weekend, you should be running against the exit!" Naruto yelled when he saw his best friend. He fixed the bag on his shoulder, before raising his arm that was holding her jacket and bag.

"Naruto! Did you pick my lock?" she hissed, but was still amazed at how fast he must have done it. With a huff she grabbed her new jacket (she had forced her mother to buy her a thicker one) and put it on. Then she took the unusually light bag and put it over her shoulder, and smiled at the thought of finishing all the papers the teacher staff had decided to throw at them to finish over the break. She only had one, in history, which she was going to do to Wednesday, hopefully with the help of her partner.

"It was an accident," the blonde whistled innocently, but the mischievous look in his eyes told her otherwise.

"Come on," Sasuke grumbled in his ordinary grumpy manner. It was the only way he was ever going to express his eager to leave the scholar grounds. His spiky hair was ruffled when his boyfriend twirled his hand around in it.

"Don't be so dark and emo now, teme! We're having a sleep-over at Sakura-chan's!" Naruto whoop-ed, throwing his arm around the Uchiha's shoulders and grabbing his female friend by the hand to lead them on the way towards the crowded exits.

"We can walk on our own, dobe," even if he thought it risky for them to be so physically close in his public area he couldn't hold up the angry and solemn tone very well. No matter how hard he tried, he was never going to hold up to his brother's standards in the art of being emotionless.

"I know, but I decided that you needed some help!" the Uzumaki refused too let his good mood to be destroyed by his soul mate's faked annoyance, "I hope you've bought a lot of presents for me!"

"As modest as always," Sakura giggled and hit him on his arm.

"Your aunt and uncle will come, won't they?" he asked sheepishly.

"Yeah, and my cousin's too," she smiled at the thought, "together with their respective others. All of us will have a partner with us this year."

The two more easygoing of the three friends laughed, while the restoring one frowned. "I can't believe your parents convinced mine to come. Kaa-san always ponder on how important it is to spend time with our own family," he said.

"Mikoto-oba-chan and kaa-chan have always wanted to celebrate this holiday together, and now they got the perfect excuse," she smiled wickedly, "me and Itachi."

Naruto's face scrunched up in a displeased grimace. "Damn him," he grumbled.

"Naruto…"

"What?, I didn't say anything!" he stared at the gray sky, and yelped when he saw the white flakes falling down, "snow!"

"Again?" Sakura skewed with her eyes as she observed a flake as it sailed down on her nose. Her muscles twitched at the cold. "Let's run," she said and sprinted down the street, dragging the two boys behind her.

"S-Sakura-chan?" the blonde was surprised at her sudden dashing.

"She hates the cold, stupid," Sasuke said as he came to even grounds with the other two.

"Just shut up," Sakura sneered before an argument would break out.

They continued running through the many streets, only getting breathers whenever they crossed a street or a crowded area. They also stopped once when they ran past Naruto's favorite restaurant Ichiraku, and he whined about going in to get the special Christmas offer, five bowls of ramen for the price of three, or a luxurious and extra large serving of any dish on the menu. You can only imagine his displeasure when they continued to run, shaking their heads. With much effort, he succeeded in ignoring his urge for that delicious soup and noodles, and followed the two who were almost leaving him behind.

They could thank their stupid and upbeat gymnastic teacher for forcing them to run for their lives every class they had with him, it made it very easy to run when you want to. And, it reduced the usual forty minute walk down to a quarter. But it punished itself by leaving them all warm, panting and sweaty when they stood on the sidewalk outside the Haruno residence. Sakura, who had less stamina than the two boys had to grip the mailbox for support when they stopped. She gathered her restoring powers and walked up to her front door and opened it, knowing her mother to be home.

"I'm home, kaa-chan!" she yelled, and kicked off her shoes.

"Sorry for intruding," Sasuke said as he entered.

"Mikaru-ba-chan!" Naruto screamed in his usual manner.

Mikaru appeared from the living room, lighting up when she saw the youths. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun! Welcome, come in, come in!" she eagerly waved her hand for them to come into the kitchen. As they stepped on the floor tiles she gave them a kiss on the cheek each, commenting on his she was the one who used to have to bend down to kiss them and something about the years going to fast and other grown-up what-not's.

"Ah, Naruto, Sasuke!" A deep and manly voice said, and the trio noticed the blonde man coming raising from the table to greet them with a hug. "You two have grown a lot since I last saw you!" He ruffled their heads.

"Too-chan!" Sakura called in surprise and threw herself around her father's neck, crying out in ecstasy. With his work as a producer for a large music company he traveled a lot, his most recent trip had been to America for three months, working with a large festival and the promotion of a new artist. "You said you weren't going to make it home 'til Christmas!"

"I have to have some surprises for you, don't I?" he smiled and kissed her. It was custom in their family, kissing each other on the mouth was as normal to them as drinking and eating.

"Then I have one for you too, Agito-ji-chan!" Naruto smiled, "me and Sasuke are together!" He proudly put an arm around his lover, grinning.

"I figured that would happen soon…" Agito blinked a few times before smiling, "congratulations!"

"Dobe, don't be so obstinate," Sasuke said and quietly settled his arm on the blondes waist. He leaned down and placed a wet kiss on his cheek, making the skin turn red beneath the whisker scars.

"Well, that's not the only surprise, honey! Sakura has a boyfriend!" Mikaru exclaimed happily from the other side of the table. What she hadn't noticed was that Agito had just taken the glass he had been drinking from just a few moments ago, and at the revelation it slipped from his grasp and down on the floor, breaking into a thousand pieces.

"What?"

The distinguishing smell of peppermint and gingerbread filled the house in the morning when the teenagers bothered to open their eyes enough to discover that they were indeed not inside their respective dreams, but in the room of Sakura. They would tiredly rub their eyes as the blonde on the floor tried to comprehend how he had ended up there. As far as he had recalled he fell asleep on the bed, squeezing the pinkette between himself and his boyfriend. It was the position they had always been sleeping in, ever since they were little squirts with far shorter legs and much lesser developed physique. But they were never bothered by each other's proximity, being used to it.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto grumbled as he turned over on his stomach, finding that he had no reason to sit up with the cover of the bed tightly twirled around his torso and legs.

The pink hairball appeared from beneath the thick duvet still laying on the bed. She couldn't handle the light flowing through the windows, and her eyes were squinting heavily, the green emeralds covered by feminine lashes glued together by sleep. "What are you doing on the floor?" her voice was hoarse, and low with the thick night-saliva.

Behind her messy spikes appeared behind her and dark eyes watched in tired and clouded amusement as the blonde tried to get up on the bed again. "Morning…" he yawned, his naked muscles ripping against the back of his childhood friend when he settled on his elbow and made a faint attempt at rubbing the weariness from his head.

"Shutem…" Naruto was, astonishingly enough, not a morning person, surely a habit he had rubbed off on his friends. He ungraciously slipped out of his cocoon, and sneaked in beside Sakura, twisting his legs and arms around her to regain the warmth he lost the few seconds it took to crawl from the floor and up on the bed.

Happily they all laid there, all curled up with one another, for a whole ten minutes before interruption came from the door in the form of a mother. They all agreed in that moment that mothers were so very annoying an itch in the back of the throat seemed like nothing. "Rise and shine, honeys," she smiled and lit the lights in the ceiling.

They groaned in unison and glared angrily at the intrusion. "Kaa-chan…" Sakura mumbled angrily, she was not thrilled at all about leaving the immense heat between her childhood friends.

"Come on, go and eat breakfast, the guests will be here in a few hours," Mikaru said and left to return to the kitchen.

With long and exhausting movements the three teenagers tried to untangle themselves from the other's, only to fail miserably by falling down on the floor. Naruto had the unfortunate to be at the bottom, and he gasped out a large gush of air when the girl and man following him landed on top of him. They laid on a pile of limbs, hair and naked skin, until Naruto was about to choke.

"You're too heavy, teme," the tired blonde stated when he sat up, rubbing the sore spot on his head where he had first made contact with the floor.

"You don't usually complain about that," Sasuke drawled, dragging himself to give his boyfriend a kiss. He smirked lazily, and hugged the tanned body close to himself, nuzzling whatever skin he could reach.

"You're such a horny dog in the morning," Sakura smiled as she got up, and stretched her short body, moaning as she did so.

"It's a family trait," Sasuke grumbled, blushing ever so slightly.

"Sakura-chan, beware," Naruto narrowed his eyes, before smiling. The grin widened when he suddenly attacked her, letting out a roar as he grabbed her and started tickling her belly. She let out a shriek, trying to fend him off while protecting herself from his evil fingers.

"N-Naruto!" she managed to yelp through the giggles and laughs, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Stop that!"

"Dobe, knock it off. If she's unconscious when nii-san comes you never know what will happen," Sasuke said and grabbed the collar of the open PJ's, dragging the blonde down to the kitchen, where they all sat down by the table, waiting to be served some breakfast.

"Nice to see you're alive," Agito smiled, closing the newspaper in front of him.

"It's only ten…" Sakura grumbled before having a plate with toasted bred placed in front of her. A smile spread on her face, as she closely observed her mother take out the spread. Immediately, almost before the bottle had touched the table, she snatched the marmalade, scraping it out over the surface of her toast.

"There's more Sakura-chan, no need to panic," her father told her.

"Are you kidding me? These two are wolves and-hey!" she slapped Naruto's hand as he tried to steal the marmalade from her, "I have to get to the shower first."

The frown appearing on the men's foreheads were frightening alike. Sakura was _their_ little girl, and the idea of her making herself pretty for _someone else _didn't sit well with either of them. "Cover up, ok?"

"Oh stop it, Naruto. It doesn't matter if I do or don't," she rolled her eyes, "he's going to spend the night here anyway."

Naruto dropped the toast in his hand, and Sasuke choked on the milk he was drinking. Agito frowned deeper.

"Say what?" the Uchiha said after regaining his breath.

"You heard me, Itachi is going to sleep here tonight," she ignored their outraged glares, "kaa-chan said he could."

"Mikaru!" Agito said, looking at his wife as if she had committed an awful crime (which she had, if you go by the daddy-law book).

"It will be fine! Darling, we've known Itachi his entire life, I trust my godson with my daughter," Mikaru said, "and besides, she is old enough to have sex."

A cup went into the floor, coffee spilling over it. The next second the havoc broke out.

"What do you mean, old enough for sex?"

"She is _not_ having sex with my brother!"

"He will not come inside this house!"

"He's your godson?"

Mikaru sighed, and turned around, facing the males that had cornered her by the worktop. "I mean that she is allowed to have sex with Itachi if she wants too, it is her choice. And yes he will, I personally invited him here, and Mikoto would be devastated if he didn't come," she made a quick sign to her daughter too escape the scene while she had the chance. Thankful for the salvation, she slipped out the kitchen, with the toast in hand, and headed up to the bathroom.

She threw the large shirt she wore into the laundry basket, along with her underwear, before she turned the water on in the shower. As the water became burning hot she thought about how convenient it was to live in a western styled house. She remembered when she had lived in a smaller house outside of Tokyo that was a traditional one, and thought that it certainly wouldn't have worked out with her current lifestyle.

She shivered when she stepped into the water, letting it damp her hair and skin before she put in the rose scented shampoo. She closed her eyes as she washed it out, turning her face upwards to meet the stream, the pitter patter reminding her of hands on her cheeks, caressing them.

She felt her insides heat up as she thought of her lover, smiling as the remembered the last time they had seen each other a few days prior. He had taken her out after school to a small café where they talked about something's and someone's.

He had, for some reason become very protective of the time they spent together. Whenever the phone rung he never answered it, and he snatched hers away when it vibrated. And he seemed to be quite careful to not show that worn stare he had all those nights ago. It was as if he steeled himself against her, but still didn't. A strange mixture of devotion and resent.

Then, she saw image of his smiling face, his eyes glowing with something akin to happiness when she had walked into his house the other day. He had gladly abandoned his paperwork by the desk in his office to make her dinner, even though he clearly didn't have the time nor energy to do it. He pushed himself to his limits for her, and here she was judging him.

But no matter the loss of energy he had he never seemed to be too tired to try and get into her pants. He would always start the same way. His hands would stroke her hair and shoulders, moving on to her arms as he leaned down to kiss her. Then, when she had wrapped her hands around his neck he would let his palms rest by her waist, before he sneaked them around her back to hold her close.

Then he would deepen the kiss by putting his tongue in her mouth, affectionately rubbing it against hers. He would groan in appreciation when she massaged his scalp, and return the favor by gliding his hands down to her hips, gently pushing them against his…

That was when she realized that her memories had turned into fantasies, and that she was acting out what she though about. With a blush she slapped her own face, trying to calm her heating body. Then she shook her head, turning the water off and stepping out onto the tiled floor. She grabbed the large towel hanging on the wall and dried herself. She looked at herself in the mirror after ruffling her hair, and thought she looked like a monster. Really, how could anyone be happy to see this?

With a sigh she went out of the bathroom with the towel around her body and into her room. Naruto and Sasuke was still making a fuzz down in the kitchen, to judge by the noise. She giggled at their childishness, and started to dig in her closet.

The loud rumble from the stairs had Mikaru wondering whether the three teenagers were human or a herd of elks. She walked out of the kitchen and saw them laying in a pile after falling down on the floor. She giggled at their energy before walking to the door and opening it for the guests waiting behind it.

"Ah, Sasori-chan! And you must be My-chan, right?" she motioned for them to come in and quickly kissed them.

My seemed utterly surprised, and blinked before looking to her lover unsurely. "Um, hello, Mikaru-san. I look forward to celebrating Christmas with you," she said with a bow, before she reached a bottle and a basked of brown and sun yellow Christmas snacks to the hostess. "Thank you for having me!"

"Oh my, what a nice girl you got yourself, Sasori-chan!" the Haruno accepted the gifts and walked into the kitchen to put them on the counter.

"Sasori-nii-chan!" Sakura fought to regain her standing balance as she collected herself off the floor. She tipped over to him and put their lips together, before turning to his girlfriend, "nice to meet you again, My-san."

"Ah, it's my pleasure!" the brown haired female bowed again before being met by another kiss.

"Wow, she's pretty!" Naruto said after he got up, and bowed to the newly arrived.

"Nice to see you too, Naruto-kun," Sasori growled, daring him to say anything else.

"Welcome," Sasuke gave a nod, and was surprised when his boyfriend gave him a smack in the back.

"Hey, a li'l bit more curtsey, teme!" the blonde said.

"Shut up, you ass!"

"Boys," Agito scolded when he entered the hall from the living room. "Sasori, My-san, welcome!" he said and hugged them, but not without a kiss (although he kissed Sasori's cheek instead of lips).

"Good to see you, Agito-ji," Sasori smiled, and took the hand of his girlfriend.

"Please, go inside the kitchen and have some amazake!" the blonde smiled and scooted the pair inside the kitchenette.

"I thought you only drink amazake at New Year?" My asked.

"Not necessarily, My," Sasori smiled.

Naruto rushed after them, because true to himself, he loved amazake. Especially that which his mother and ba-chan's did. Sasuke sighed at the energy wasted by his boyfriend as he walked after him. Sakura was about to follow when the doorbell rung again. With a delighted squeal she ran to the door and opened it, revealing her aunts and their respective husband, together with the parents of her best friend.

"Akane-ba, Sazuki-ba, Haku-ji and Nibaru-ji is here, and Minato-ji and Kushina-ba too!" she yelled into the kitchen before stepping aside to let the guests in. She greeted them all with a kiss each as the rest of the family came to welcome them, along with a tray of amazake for them.

"Welcome, Aka-nee, Zuki-nee," Mikaru smiled at her sisters before turning to the Namikaze and Uzumaki, "it's so nice to see you again, Kishina, Minato."

"Thanks for having us, and our son, Mikaru," Minato smiled.

They stood and socialized for a good ten minutes before the door was opened once again, this time letting the Uchiha's in. "Merry Christmas, everyone!" Mikoto said as she kissed her friends and son. Fugaku was reserved as always and sternly rejected all the offered kisses.

"Mikoto-baa-chan, wasn't Itachi supposed to be with you?" Sakura asked, disappointed that her lover had not appeared yet.

"He was, but he was caught up in paperwork, and will be arriving later. He said his deepest apologies and asked us to start without him," poor Mikoto, she looked like she could cry when she saw the dejected look on the young woman's face.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, he will be here as soon as he can, and I'm sure he has Shisui and Amarante with him," her mother said comfortingly, before she once again focused on her guests.

"Sakura, could you check the gingerbread in the oven?" her father asked.

"Sure," she said and slipped through the collection of people by the door. She sniffed the air and was pleased that it did not seem to smell anything like burned cookies. She loved gingerbread, especially the ones her father made. He was so much better at baking them than her mother, because he had learned it as a kid, when he still lived in the states. Her grandmother had also been skilled at making them, but she had died a few years ago.

She took a peek inside the hot oven and saw that the brown heart shaped crisps. She put on the pink oven glove and took out the baking sheet and smiled when the warm and distinctive smell hit her nostrils.

"Did you make gingersnaps, Sakura-chan?" with a surprised squeal the pink haired girl twirled around, seeing her aunt standing on the other side of the table.

"Damn, don't scare me like that, Akane-ba," she breathed before setting the cookies on the worktop.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. Your mother asked me to tell you that we are settling in the dinner hall.

"Yeah, I'll be right there," she smiled and fuzzed a bit with the baking sheet and the parchment paper before she took off the glove and was about too go to the dinner when her phone piped in the pocket of her green tunic. She took it up and saw the message she had just received.

'_I will be coming by 6, Shisui and Amarante are already on the way.__'_

She frowned, and felt the anger and frustration boil up inside her when she read the message again. What the hell did he mean by six? It was a good three hours 'til then! Was he just expecting her to obediently sit around and wait for him like a good little girl? He promised to come at the very latest half past three (together with his parents), but she didn't see any handsome police officer anywhere!

She could feel the tears burning in her eyes, but she controlled herself and didn't let them slip down. She also resisted the urge to throw her phone in the wall, to see his aggravating message fade on the screen and hear it smack into the floor. With a grunt she stomped off to the dinning hall where a long table was filled with delicious looking food and appealing decorations. The people seated around it was laughing happily about their respective conversations.

But the chat's stopped when the immensely strong feeling of a real Haruno loosing her temper entered the room. The small female, who could be unbelievably hot-tempered and violent, was glaring at all and anything that was crossing her eyes as she sat down.

The silence laid heavy for a few moments before Mikaru decided to ask what was wrong.

"That jerk isn't coming until six," she grumbled, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, I see…" Mikaru and Mikoto seemed utterly disappointed, but they soon figured that nothing was going to get better with them all depressed and so invited everyone to taste the many dishes placed before them.

"Did he say anything about Shisui and Amarante?"

"He said they were on their way," the girl grumbled, putting a piece of ham on her plate. The seemed displeased with the fact that everyone was letting the fact that Itachi was not going to come until six go so easily. But she didn't say anything about it and listened in on the conversations around her.

"Mikaru-san, how is work going right now? I heard you had a pretty rough case on your shoulders."

"No, no, I'm not related to Agito, we just happen to both be blondes and blue-eyed."

"I am the oldest of myself, Sazuki and Mikaru."

"The case with the serial rapist was closed earlier this week, Fugaku-sama."

"Dammit, teme! Don't take my drink!"

"I work as a biology and chemistry teacher."

"About that…"

And so the dinner went on for half an hour, before the delayed arrival of Shisui and Amarante occurred. The lot was delighted to see them, especially Sakura, because now she would have someone to talk to, and who wouldn't let herself get distracted by a certain spiky haired teenager.

"Hi, Ama-chan," she smiled when her cousin sat down next to her.

"Hello, Saku-chan. Did you hear from Itachi?" Amarante asked as she sat down and flipped her purple strands out of her eyes.

At the mention of the bastard the pink haired girl snorted, "I did."

"Well, he said he would come by six, and there's only a little bit more than two hours left," at the poorly chosen words Sakura frowned, and sighed in frustration.

"He told me he would be here by three yesterday, that idiot," she glided down in her seat and gabbed the low alcoholic sake she had been poured.

"There were some complications with the authorities, he have to sort them out before he comes," Shisui cut in, his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"Ew, Shisui…" his girlfriend said with an abject sigh.

"What kind of complications?" Fugaku asked from the other side of the table, and suddenly everyone was listening attentively.

"Seems there was some trouble with a case. A politician has been suspected for pedophilia, and Itachi's negotiating with the political party on whether too release the information to the public or not," with the tact to swallow before he spoke Shisui answered truthfully.

"Why constantly go after Itachi? They know he's not even in charge of that," Mikoto frowned, irritated with the fact that everyone seemed to enjoy causing her little boy trouble.

"Who's the suspect?" Nibaru, the husband of Sazuki, asked.

"I'm not allowed to say," Shisui faked seriousness and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"You told me," Amarante giggled.

"That's _totally_ different!" he seemed disturbed by the fact that his lover was out to get him in any way she could.

"Minato, I heard about your promotion to general, I have to congratulate! I always knew you were a fantastic leader and fighter," Mikoto said to the blonde, startling him.

With a modest wave of the hand he discarded her praise, "I am sure they only choose me to annoy my colleagues. Also, I'm far behind Fugaku in that matter."

Fugaku chuckled, "Surely not, Minato. In our high school days you were the one to order the class around, I shall not take that honor from you." The mocking tone sent the wife's of the two men giggling at old memories.

"I care to remember you were also quite bossy, darling," Mikoto poked the slightly chubby tummy of her husband.

"That comes from one who ordered someone to go on a date with them?" Mikaru laughed, seeing the blush flushing up on the Uchiha's cheeks.

"That was a slip of the tongue," she insisted.

"Oh? Then that time when you ordered me to sit down and let my hair be cut by you? You know how long it took me to grow it out again."

"Mikaru, you could mess around with too-sama quite a lot, you know," Akane said, putting her younger sister in her place.

"I think that the easiest thing to do is to conclude that we all can be quite dominant to a fault at times," Kushina said, trying to calm the slightly heated conversation.

"Sakura-chan," a small whisper sneaked into the Haruno's ear, and she shivered as the weird sound.

"What, Naruto?" she turned to him, seeing his stern face.

"You have to explain to me, how the hell are you related to all these people?" he asked with a frown.

"Is that all? Well, Amarante and Sasori are my cousins, from my mother's side. Sasori is the son of Akane, my kaa-chan's oldest sister, and Haku. Sazuki is my mother's second oldest sister, and together with Nibaru she had Amarante. Mikoto and Fugaku are Sasuke's parents, and of course, my boyfriends parents-

"I know those relations, Sakura-chan…" Naruto scratched his head. "Hm… So your mother is the youngest sister amongst the three. Amarante-chan is Sazuki-ba-chan's kid. Sasori is Akane-ba-chan's kid. Sazuki-ba-chan is married to Nibaru-ji-chan. Akane-ba-chan is married to Haku-ji-chan. Is that right?"

"Amazing dobe, you remembered the whole thing," Sasuke said and smirked. He leaned close to the knuckle head and whispered; "do you know what our relation is?"

A shiver ran through the blonde before he leaned in and whispered something in the ear of the young Uchiha. With a satisfied smirk he nodded, praising his partner with a peek on the cheek.

"Sasuke, no sexual aggressiveness at the table," their long time female friend said, smirking as she did.

"Exactly, teme!"

"You usually don't object," damn, Sasuke could be terribly like his older brother at times, and when he used such a low, lusty voice was one of those times. He was very bewildered when both his friends shivered pleasantly.

The dinner continued with dessert and merry talk, as well as some singing. Everyone was delighted to hear the young trio sing, even if Naruto didn't have a voice to boast about. Amarante, who had never been good with alcohol, mind you, was currently giggling like a mad man, hanging on her boyfriend. Not even Fugaku ruined the mood with any stiff prayer for his son to stop embarrass himself, and such an outrageous thing had not occurred since, well, never!

It was not long until the party moved into the big and cozy living room, and Sakura was asked to help with the dishes. She and her parents carried the many plates and trays from the warm dinning hall to the kitchen where they put it in the sink, dishwasher and on the worktop. Really, having a dinner was nice and all, but all the after work is truly horrible.

"Sakura-chan, could you mince the chocolate? I will fix the fruit salad while you do," her mother said, pointing to the block of brown laying by a knife and cutting board.

"Sure," with the awkwardness of an amateur chef she picked the knife up and carefully started chopping down on the chocolate. But even if she tried her best to keep her frustration of the epic slowness of the process she failed miserably when a chip flew away. With a long breath she glanced at the clock, and saw that it was well over six. The sky was dark outside and the snow had started falling to judge by the droplets on the window.

"Are you done?" Mikaru sighed when she saw that only half the block was in little pieces, but she was rather understanding about it, since her daughter was longing herself sick for her boyfriend, and the fact that she was not very skilled with a kitchen blade didn't help it either.

"No, sorry," after the little detour out of the window with her thoughts, Sakura started chopping again, tensing her arm and make somewhat quick work of the chocolate. She put it in a bowl that her mother had placed next to her and went to clean her hands again.

"Oh, could you take the ice-cream and berry-mix? I've got my hands full," the purple haired woman asked when she walked out the door.

"Sure," with a roll of her green eyes the teenager obeyed the wish and tarried the two bowls out to the living room, where the rest of the merry collection was watching in delight at how delicious-looking bowl after delicious-looking bowl was placed in front of them.

"Really, Mikaru-chan? Fruits even on Christmas?" Mikoto laughed.

"What? Fruits are healthy, and tasty!" it was a well known secret, the Haruno was a fructuary. She only used hygiene articles with fruits like apples and cherries in them, detergent scented like lemon and lip-balm with taste of apricot.

"We know darling, we just want to tease you a little," Agito said and sat his wife down on the couch, and was about to say 'go ahead' when she stopped him.

"We should wait for Itachi," she said and smiled when her daughter sat down next to her.

"Why should we?" the pink haired girl muttered lowly and leaned on the armrest of the sofa. Her gaze was fixed at the door, and every time she saw car light reflect on the frosted windows by it she thought that he would soon appear. Only that he didn't.

"I wonder if something has happened?" Akane furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm sure something happened, but not to Itachi. It's a bit stormy outside," My mumbled, staring into the light on the table.

"What? It's pitch black outside, how do you know?" Naruto asked in bewilderment.

"I'm telling you! She's a psychic!" Shisui exclaimed with a sudden jump.

"I bothered listening to the sounds outside, Shisui," the Nordic looked sanctimonious.

The Uchiha was quiet a few seconds. "But there is no sound," he said.

"Exactly. Isn't it a bit strange that there is no sound what so ever in a city? So either the world just went under, or the wind is stealing all the sounds away," My smiled with a light shake of the head.

"Genius, honey," Sasori squeezed her as she sat on his lap.

"They said the weather was going to rough up at work today," Nibaru said.

"Oh yes, you work as a meteorologist, Nibaru-ji," Sasori confirmed to himself.

"Weather is fascinating indeed," Fugaku nodded.

"Why are you weather-guys never right?" Naruto asked and was smacked in the head.

"Don't be rude, you knucklehead," Sasuke sighed.

"Naruto, don't be so rude!" Kushina gasped.

"Don't hit him in the head, Sasuke!" Mikoto scolded.

"Calm down, honey," Minato and Fugaku said at the same time.

_Ding-dong._

"He's here!" up went Sakura, leaving the others surprised by her sudden squeal. She ran to the door and ripped it open, allowing a large gush of cold air hit her skin. She immediately started chattering her teeth.

"Someone must be happy to see me," the soft tenor was unmistakable, and when he stepped into the light of the inside lamp he seemed dangerously pale. But that might have something to do with the fact that he was covered in quickly melting snowflakes. He gladly walked inside when she dragged him and closed the door with a weak bang.

But she didn't throw herself around his neck like a rag doll, no, she glared at him instead. Her gaze scanned him from head to toe, only leaving the side turned away from her unseen. "You deserve a slap for lying to me and being late, but for now, the fact that you look so good in uniform saved you," she concluded.

He raised an amused eyebrow. "So now I am only good for my looks?" he asked her lowly.

"What else would I have you for if I couldn't look at you?"

"Oh, I don't quite know…" he purred and leaned down, sticking his tongue out and flicking it across her cheek. At her shocked expression he smirked, "everybody loves chocolate."

She blushed a deep red, but was fortunate enough to be saved by his mother. "Itachi! I was so worried about you!" she said, hugging her son tightly.

"There was no need for worry, kaa-san," he was so authorized under normal circumstances that it was hard to believe he seemed sort of…resigned when he talked to his mother.

"Itachi! How nice to see you, after such a long time!" Mikaru came walking in, her arms open wide to embrace her godson.

"Hello, Mikaru-san," the black haired man said and accepted the contact.

They entered the living room, and was greeted by a loud cheer from the people sitting there. Shisui jumped up from his seat to put his cousin in a head lock, which he failed at miserably. My and Amarante tipped over a plate with fruits onto the floor and in panic cleaned it up with kitchen paper. Naruto made an attempt at gracefully separate his friend from her boyfriend but happened to be stopped by his mothers grip on his pants. The aunts and uncles of Sakura seemed to be the only ones that didn't have any trouble while welcoming the newly arrived.

"Now everyone, sit down! We have to open the Christmas presents!" Mikaru said happily, and ran to the closet in the hall. She pulled out a big sack that seemed full of things. She struggled a while before she set the brown bag down. "Alright, first is for… Sasori! From us."

"Thank you," the redhead accepted the gift.

"Kushina-chan, I can't read what you've written here…" the purple haired mother furrowed her brows.

"That one's for Sakura-chan," Kushina smiled, used to her poor handwriting being unreadable for others.

"Thank you, Kushina-ba," with a smile Sakura took the red box in her hand.

The Christmas gift distribution continued for almost an hour, after being interrupted by a few incidents (namely Shisui choking on bread). They all received lovely gifts, and by the time the clock was nearing eight most of the visitors made themselves ready to leave.

"I'll see you soon, imoto-chan," Akane smiled and hugged her sister.

"See you then, Minato," Agito grinned.

"I can't leave you here with that wolf, Sakura," Sasori growled.

"I can't believe I'm going to sleep in the same house as _him_," Naruto sighed dramatically.

"Naruto, behave yourself while you're here, you are a guest," Kushina scowled.

"Bye bye, Itachi. Be nice to Sakura-chan," Mikoto smiled.

"See you later, Amarante," Sakura eloped her cousin in a big hug.

After the many good bye's the remaining people of six went to sit in the living room once again, all of them settling in their respective furniture with their respective other. Itachi minded to occupy the larger couch, while his brother settled for the smaller one. The older couple sat in a generous armchair.

They lay there, in the light of the glowing fire coming from the hearth. The older Uchiha unselfishly lent his stomach to his girlfriend as a pillow, seeming to not be troubled at all by her weight. He gently made small circles on her thigh, while absentmindedly watching the wood smolder. His steady breaths raised her as he inhailed, and she thought it amusing, but she refrained from giggling, it would ruin the mood. However, she didn't need to worry about that, because Naruto let out a loud sneeze just as he was about to fall asleep.

With a tired laughter Sasuke kissed the top of his head, sitting up. "Should we go to bed?" he asked gently, feeling warm inside when the blonde nodded somewhat dizzily.

"That weird drink Sasori's girl had with her made me sleepy," he rubbed his eyes, yawning widely. He stretched his arms as good as he could before he was pulled up on his feet.

"You can't even handle that little alcohol?" the raven haired man asked, leading his boyfriend by the hand to the stairs, "goodnight."

"Good night, Sasuke, Naruto," Mikaru called affectionately.

"Night," Sakura said.

"Koi, we should go to be too. Especially you," Agito mumbled and stroke his wife's hair, "you've literally been working 24 hours straight the last couple of days."

"You're right. If I'm not careful I'll get wrinkles," the amusing comment had them all chuckling.

"There is nothing you need to worry about Mikaru-san, you still look like you did fifteen years ago," Itachi said.

"My, I must have been looking really old back then in that case," she stood, dragging her husband with her. "Sakura, will you put the lights out?"

"Yeah, we'll go to bed now too," the small woman turned to her pillow, "won't we? You must be tired, and I still haven't given you any punishment."

"Punishment for what?"

"For being so late, you big jerk," she frowned at his forgetfulness.

"I am terribly sorry, your highness," he said, "but isn't sitting on my stomach and thereby nearly choking me punishment enough?"

"I'm choking you?" she immediately stood up, worried about is confession.

He chuckled, "no, you are not."

She huffed irritably, turning on her heel to go and switch the power in the room off, leaving him in darkness. "I hope you hit your foot on something," she hissed. Then, with a haughty stance, she walked into the dinning hall and made sure the candles weren't burning anymore before moving to the kitchen.

She sighed as she let her fingers hit the relay, covering the many devices in shadows. She turned with a long stare at the fridge, thinking of all the delicious food inside it and how she would eat it in the morning. But when she also turned her head she let out a high squeak, jumping backwards into the darkness. Long fingers grabbed her, hindering her from moving further away.

Red eyes warmed with calm, and the owner of them closed in on her, until there was only a hair between them. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead, then her nose. His other hand gently grabbed hers, interlacing their fingers. He leaned down, kissing her jaw, neck and shoulder. The odd administration had her leaning her head back, allowing him to nip at her throat.

She slid her fingers over his shoulders, digging her nails into the back of his uniform jacket. She absentmindedly twirled his black hair, humming in appreciation when he kissed her by the neckline of her tunic. Then she gasped in surprise when he grabbed her thighs, lifted her and set her on the cooking island a few meters behind her. There he continued kissing her, roaming his hands all over her body.

"You pervert…" she mumbled with a sigh.

"I know you like it when I am," he smirked while hugging her tightly, pushing her breasts against himself.

"Not in the kitchen," she giggled, soon laughing when he hoisted her up over his shoulder, carrying her up the stars to where she pointed out to be her room. As quietly as he was capable he sneaked inside, located the bed and walked to it with determined steps. He threw her down on the green sheets and quickly climbed on top of her. He straddled her rather awkwardly in the stiff pants he was rearing, but didn't fail to impress her non the less with his large stature.

He let a hand trace her side, fingering the hem of her tunic before leaving it be. He tapped gently on her belly bottom, stroking it. His expression changed, from a amorous god who hadn't had any in a long time to a man mourning over something. The solemn light in his eyes when he looked at her was striking, and she forgot how to breath.

She bit her lip, wondering whether she should speak or not. "Itachi?" she asked gently, breaking him out of the peaceful and sad trance.

"I'll be going away in two days," he said, stretching his back.

She gasped at his cold and uncaring voice, and statement. Her previously hot body immediately cooled down, and she tried to sit up, but was pushed down before she could do any damage. Her heavy eyelids flew up and she stared at him for a long time, feeling his hair tickle her skin. "What do you mean, going away?" she hissed, "I thought you said you'd spend New Year with me…"

'Going away' never mean a day or two. It meant 'I'm leaving for a long time', otherwise he wouldn't have said it like that. He wouldn't have been sounding almost depressed if he was only going to be away for a few days!

"I was invited by the Minister of Defense in America to go there, as a representative for the Japanese military," he sighed.

"But…you're not even in the military…?" she was feeling insecure, having him so negatively emotional, and the bad news was not helping either.

"I have an officer degree," he laid down on top of her, laying his forehead against her shoulder, "and the civilian defense is part of the military force."

Her body was limp beneath him, unmoving. "How…how long will you stay there?" she blinked, hesitating the question, fearing a far to disagreeable answer. His hand came up and cupped the nape of her neck, massaging it.

"It could be for up to two months," he confessed quietly, letting his lips brush her skin as he talked.

Her eyes widened, and she failed to notice her breathing stopped. She turned her head to look at his black locks. Her mouth was wide open and she tensed up. Suddenly she became frustrated. Who the hell did he think he was? First he arrives late, without an acceptable explanation, and now he is telling her he's leaving the country the day after tomorrow for _two months_? The heat rose to her face and she gritted her teeth.

With a powerful movement with her left side she over threw him and herself, leaving her on top of him. She struggled a bit to sit on his stomach, al the while pushing his shoulders down. His glowing gaze was surprised at her spontaneous act, and when he tried to sit up she forced him down again.

"What the hell are you saying?" she half yelled, still considerate of the others in the house, "two months? You're going to be away for two months?"

He blinked, taken aback by her strange behavior, "yes."

His simple answer made her even more aggravated, and she felt the urge to slap him across his pretty face. "Why the hell haven't you told me about it? You're always like this! Never tell me anything, and if you do, it's last minute!" she hissed, fighting to hold back the tears of frustration.

He sighed, removing her hands from his shoulders to sit up, still with her on his lap. "It was a sudden call, I was told a few days ago. I figured I'd better tell you myself than over the phone," he said, moving his head closer to hers.

"I think you could have told me over the phone," she grumbled, still angry with him.

"I am sorry, I will reflect over my actions," she gasped at his apology, feeling a strange kind of dominance. The impression was strengthened when he brought her hand up to his mouth, and gently kissed her fingers. "Will you accept my apology, _hime-sama_?"

The nickname hit her like a ton of bricks. Her memory immediately replayed the moment he had called her that in the classroom, but she felt like there was another memory to it, ghosting in the back of her head. But non the less, she blushed heavily at his flirtatious tone.

"N-not completely, sir," she stuttered nervously.

He chuckled at her obvious embarrassment. "Then, I will have to try harder to seize your anger," he mumbled as he put her underarm to his mouth, kissing the sensitive skin lightly. Tingles flew up her spine and down again, making a strange heat boil in her stomach.

"Itachi…" she whimpered when he laid her down again, tugging on her hand. Her meek plead was all he needed to understand what she wanted. He moved to her face, pushing their lips together with great care, making her close her eyes. They savored the feeling of their skin brushing against the others, competing on who would be the one who would give into the other first. And not surprisingly, Sakura soon moaned into their touch, craving more from her partner. He was happy to grant her wish by forcing his tongue inside her mouth, tasting a fruity aroma in her saliva.

He sneaked his hand down her stomach, lifting the hem of her tunic that had slid up. The soft skin of her stomach reacted to his touches by heating, leaving him satisfied with her. The tip of his fingers brushed the under-wire of her bra, and he felt an aggressive excitement over finally getting to touch the chest he had admired from safe distance oh-so many times.

But his anticipations were abruptly crushed when his wrist was grabbed, and stopped. His red eyes opened, and he broke the kiss to look at his girlfriend properly. He was frowning, and she smirked at him.

"Since you were late, you won't be getting any today either, darling."

* * *

Whai! I'm done! What a feat, almost 20 pages! I am rather proud of myself, although most of this was just filling out the chapter, until I got to the goody stuff (aka Itachi).

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll be back with more soon!

Love, Angel


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI**

**Departure**

_Leaving someone behind is painful, saying goodbye hurts even more._

It was the day after Christmas day and Sakura was just setting her feet on the asphalt laid out on the parking of the Tokyo International Airport. The air buzzed with activity even with the cold temperature of five negative degree's Celsius. She was far beyond the point of cold, she was freezing after merely a minute out of the warm car. Fortunately she was shoved against the entrance of the airport at a fast pace by her boyfriends mother who didn't want to waste any time away from her little boy who was going away for such a long time.

They passed through the doors, greeted with a confused and stuffed area full of tourists and businessmen. The volume was loud, even overpowering the sound of an airplane lifting off. Mikoto hurriedly scrambled through her purse, moving lip gloss, the wallet and her many notebooks out of the way as she searched for a small piece of paper she had written down the night before.

"Ah! Here… port 7 is it? Alright, come on, Sakura-chan," Mikoto said, her voice strained. She started pushing her way through the crowds, incautiously shoving people out of her way. Sakura tried to follow the best she could, but with the security guards watching her eerily, finding her hair disturbingly rebellious, she didn't dare to try and anger people.

Even though it had been a refrigerator outside, it was like an oven in here, leaving her sweating beneath her thick coat. She panted, annoyed at the lack of space as she tried her best to move discreetly. It took her a good ten minutes to even catch a glimpse of the sign saying 'Port 7; international flights'. With a relieved breath she smiled, all the while continuing to force her way forward. Flashes reflected on the walls and windows around the port, revealing to her that her boyfriend had not gotten on his plane yet.

She carelessly threw herself in amongst the many reporters and curious commoners, in an attempt to get to see her boyfriend one last time before he went off. There was a loud protest when she pushed a photographer aside in order to catch a glimpse of the men clad in suit walking down the way to the check in. She saw a man she recognized from one of her recent visits in the police department, he had presented himself as Hoshigaki Kisame, apparently a good friend of her boyfriend.

Next she saw a few men which faces she had only seen on television, and she couldn't remember their names, but was aware of them being in high positions within the government. She frowned at them, boring, old, arrogant men… They looked almost as naturally arrogant as those born in the Uchiha family, but of course, few could rival to them in that aspect. On top on the list of most arrogant men she knew Sasuke must be placed in fourth, just after his rival Hyuuga Neji. Second would of course be Fugaku, since he was the head of the Uchiha family, but he had lost some of his stuck up-ness after a few years with three vigorous kids running around his house every day of the week. So the one gaining the first place would definitely be…

"Uchiha Itachi-sama!" a girl shrieked in her ear, nearly leaving her deaf.

_Speak of the devil, no?_ The independent persona inside her head chuckled.

Suddenly the flashes exceeded the light of the sun, and everything was lit up by the constantly flickering lights. She squinted, trying to block out some of the blinking coming from the opposite side of the isle from her. A choir of shrill screams erupted around her as she caught sight of him, walking down the cleared way with his father beside him. He nonchalantly passed by the crowd, holding his gaze steadily on the check in. However, just as he was about to walk past her he threw a quick glance her way, red eyes glistening with thousands of words.

For a few moments she stood there, staring after him in wonder. But when he attempted yet another look her way she jerked. She turned around, realizing that she was flustered. Hurriedly she exited the ocean of fanatic fan girls and eager cameramen. She continued walking, without looking back, giving the cold shoulder to the atmosphere he had so skillfully built up between them in a few milliseconds. She bit her lip, frowning at the small thumping in her chest.

She huffed when she was about to launch inside the huge crowd again, when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned her head at a neck breaking speed, expecting to see Itachi with a displeased look on his face. But it wasn't, and instead she stood face to face with a woman, pointing to her left, "this time, miss, ya oughta take th' way by th' cafeteria n' such. Keeps ya outta th' way o' them travelers."

Sakura at first had a hard time comprehending just what the woman was saying, because she wasn't good with dialects, and since she had been thinking she would receive some kind of amorous punishment for leaving so quickly she was not very fast on the uptake.

"Miss?" the woman asked again.

"Oh… Sorry," Sakura bowed, embarrassed over her behavior and shameless thoughts just a second ago. It also disturbed her that she hadn't thought of the area with shopping stores and cafeteria to go through, since it was less crowded than the way she had been taking last time. She wanted to slap herself, because really, did she, a top student on the top school in Tokyo, allow herself to be so stupid and impulsive?

_Urgh__… this is all Itachi's fault…_ She thought to herself, walking to the door the guard had pointed out for her. Seriously, she was a lot more careless and relaxed ever since she met him. Last time she checked she was supposed to be a workaholic in school, and she usually spent at the very least four hours a day with her books in her room. But now that was all changed. She couldn't focus properly in school, well, not as much as she wanted to anyway, and she never felt like picking the math's book from her bag and solve a few problems. Before she did it without a problem, but nowadays she found herself lightheaded, distracted and daydreaming. The last was the worst part.

She could sit in school, doing a test, or listening to a boring lecture about the ethics of ancient Egypt, and suddenly images of cliché couple scenes in a park covered with twilight could appear behind her eyes. He would be holding her close on his lap, nuzzling her neck, lifting her skirt to her waist, with his hands on her hips. She would make some vain, pathetic attempts to keep him away, but would fail after a few short moments. Then he would push her down on the grass, kissing her furiously…

_NO!_ This time, she actually slapped herself, ignoring the few stares she got from people watching her. She was not-_absolutely not-_going to have a wet fantasy in the middle of a crowded airport! She grumbled a little, receiving more confused and surprised looks as she stomped outside. She shivered when the automatic doors opened for her, and the air hit her.

She looked around, without finding Mikoto anywhere, and stuck her hand in her pocket to pull up her phone. She opened it and was just about to quick dial her teacher when it vibrated in her hand, playing her ring tone and displaying a picture of her boyfriend in his working attire (it was a sneak photo she had taken of him just when he was finishing work, without him noticing).

Quickly, she pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear. "M-mochi, mochi?" she said uncertainly, furrowing her brow.

"_Hello Sakura," _she nearly dropped the phone, hearing his voice caressing her ear through the speaker, _"how nice to see you picked up. And so quickly at that."_

She blushed, "I was just about to make a call, that's why." Her slightly distressed tone probably had him smirking.

"_I'm a little bit hurt with your attitude at the moment, Sakura," _he mumbled, feigning sadness.

"What attitude?"

"_The attitude that makes it seem like you're more than willing to avoid my presence, even through the phone," _the sadness was gone, but he still sounded a bit…disturbed.

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm cold and want to get home, that's why I can't wait for you to hurry and hang up so I can call my driver," she sighed, letting her voice shudder as she spoke to empathize her feelings.

"_Oh, that is cold indeed,"_ he laughed, _"and I'm not talking about the weather."_

"Ha, ha, ha…" she snapped icily. "Don't you have a reporter to flirt with or something?"

"_Actually no, rather disappointing in my opinion," _he snickered at her low growl, _"I am sitting on the plane already. We will take off in a few minutes."_

She was silent, looking down on the ground. The quiet moment between them seemed to last forever, and was awkward, for the both of them. She heard him clearing his throat, and was glad that he seemed to have something to say, but he didn't. She released a deep breath, turning her face upwards.

"_Well, since we don't seem to have anything to talk about for the moment, I'll let you call your driver. Good bye Sa-_

"Wait!" his sudden farewell caught her off guard, and she frowned over the fact that she hadn't told him anything that she wanted to.

"_Yes?"_ surprisingly, he seemed happy that she had interrupted him, as his voice was light and eager.

"Um…yeah… Be safe, Itachi, and hurry home," she mumbled, turning her face downwards again, hiding her blushing cheeks behind the blue scarf hanging around her neck.

"…_Hard to be anything but on an official meeting,"_ he sighed, and the sound of clothes shifting registered in her ear, _"if I only could I'd be running out of this plane right now to elope you."_

"E-elope? What's up with the sudden romance?" she blushed harder, and wanted to sink through the earth, just so she could flee from the embarrassment of his statement.

"_I've got no idea, I would have hoped you knew," _he took a long exhale, marking how uncomfortable he was, acting like a teenager falling in love for the first time.

"I thought you were the one with experience within this area?" she giggled, excited with this new side of him.

"_You presume a lot about me, don't you?" _he asked, his voice still tight.

"You're a man who leaves many impressions," she confessed, frowning slightly at his chuckle.

"_Excuse me, for a moment,"_ she was surprised my his request, but he returned to the phone before she could answer, _"I have to hang up, they're starting the plane."_

"Oh… I see… Call me when you get there, ok?" she said, a lump suddenly forming in her throat along with tears in her eyes.

"_I will. Goodbye Sakura,"_ he said.

"Goodbye, Itachi," she hesitated, she didn't want him to go to the other side of the Pacific ocean, "I-I…I'll miss you."

Once again, there was silence, but soon enough, he answered, _"…the feeling is mutual."_

Then the line went silent, and she closed her phone, blushing to a shade of crimson. She put the pink cell to her lips and closed her eyes, frustrated tears brimming in them. She almost gave into the urge to throw the plastic and metals into the ground and stomp it just to get emotions out. But no, she was a refined young lady, so she would not do that. She would join Naruto on his venture to the gym later in the afternoon instead, and she would demand that he brought extra clothes for her.

She jumped high when her phone started ringing, and she thought she had a heart attack. She excitedly flipped it open again, hoping to hear the sweet murmur of her bastard boyfriend when he told her he was really coming to elope her and all that jazz, "mochi, mochi!"

"_Mochi, Mochi, Sakura-chan, where are you?"_ it was Mikoto.

A wave of disappointment washed through her, cooling her girly senses. "I'm at the exit already," she mumbled.

"_I see, I'll be there soon, and we'll go home, alright? Naruto-kun is coming over later too,"_ the older woman said, seemingly having a hard time getting through a crowd.

"Yeah, right," Sakura closed the phone, bracing herself for the next few hours to come.

"Sakura-chan, calm down!" Naruto yelped in a high pitch when she attacked the two boxing cuffs he was holding. He stepped backwards in timing to her advance on him, afraid that he would be smacked into a wall if she got a hit.

"Naruto, _keep. The. Fuck. Still!_" she was dangerous, seriously dangerous. Women who was separated with something they liked, no matter if it was shoes, chocolate or men, were scary. Naruto had known that his entire life, and have had first hand experiences since his birth. He squealed again when she landed a hit on the pillow, what might have broken his arm if he had been any less bulky.

"You'll kill me, Sakura-chan!" he said and ran to the other side of the room, trying to ignore the pain resonating in his right arm. "I don't wanna be the one doing this if you hit me with your right," he winced.

"Stop being such a pussy!" she yelled, launching with full speed at him. He screamed in terror and barely escaped a kick for his abdomen. He rolled to the side, whining like a dog when he saw the poor boxing sack she hit instead. It swung wildly behind her as she turned to him. "_Damn it Naruto_!"

"Help me-e!" he yelled for anyone that might hear, but as far as they knew, they were alone in the gym, save for the one standing by the entrance.

"Shut up you idiot!" Sakura screamed, gritting her teeth. When seeing the truly terrified face of her best friend she got down into a crouching position, digging her fingers into the hair she had put up in a ponytail. She stared at her red painted toenails, and frowned. She glanced up, and saw the blonde watching her eerily.

She gave him a small smile before turning downwards again, "see? This is what he does to me."

He was shifting, and crawled over to her, sitting with his legs crossed. He put a tanned hand (how it was tanned in the middle of the winter she had no idea) on her shoulder, surely sporting a comforting smile too. "I know how it is. Uchiha's should be banned from earth," he said with a sigh.

"You know that wouldn't work," she looked up at him, tears brimming, "we would still be just as miserable as when they're here."

He gave her a sad smile, shaking his head, "maybe, maybe not."

"Why do they do this to us? _How_ do they do it?" she asked him, not bothering about the salty water falling to the floor.

"Because they're Uchiha's," he grinned, "they're born with extreme luck."

She had to laugh at his to obvious attempts at making her feel better. She pulled the tie from her hair, letting it fall around her face in a messy heap. "What would I do if I didn't have you, idiot?" it wasn't really a question, but he answered anyway, with a wide grin.

"You would be caught in a love triangle with the worst sibling duo in the whole world."

She tapped her foot, absentmindedly patting her cat that had found a good spot pressed up against her thigh. She stared at the TV, that wasn't even on. She was waiting for her cousins to pick her up for their annual visit to a festival outside of Tokyo. Their parents were not coming with them this year, because they had gotten a ticket to a spa this day, and was surely enjoying it to the fullest by now.

But that wasn't the only thing she was waiting for. She had been sitting for five days straight watching her phone. She hadn't gone anywhere without it since two days ago. She had been in the shower, and when she had come back to her room she had one missed call, from America. She had yelped in happiness, but when she realized she couldn't reach it back for one reason or another, she had been rather outraged. There she had gone hoping for a call for three days, and even if the time was different over there from in Tokyo, he should be able to nail some time that fit them both rather well. She had tried reaching his phone, but had gotten a message that he had switched it off. It was enraging, really. What was that about cold attitude, huh?

She was rather hurt by the fact that he hadn't even bothered to try and contact her any other way than through that one phone call. She didn't receive any mails either. And she wasn't worried, because Fugaku called Mikoto every day and left throughout reports of their visit in the States. And after his call, she would call Sakura and ask if she had heard from Itachi, but got an unwavering no, and it made both of them disappointed.

"_Well, I'm sure he's just busy,"_ is his mothers convincement.

His girlfriend on the other hand, was not so sure. He could hardly be more busy over there than he is on the TMPD, and even then he go out of his ways to have one free night with her. So there was something else that was keeping him from calling her. And either Fugaku was hiding something from his wife, or Itachi had simply lost interest in her. He must have found some beautiful, blond and blue eyed secretary with Norwegian origins or something, and was currently enjoying his time fooling around with her. When he was back, he would no doubt go back to her, get into her pants and dump her before calling his Norwegian lover over and marry her.

The jealousy was unbearable as she thought about it, and unconsciously patted Leo's head harder, making him want to growl at her, but he didn't because one, he was too lazy, and two, he might not be allowed to sleep in her bed again, like one week ago when some strange, tall and dark haired human had taken his seat. He was not pleased about that at all, especially considering that the two usual idiot's had been occupying the bed the night before, and for that, he had demanded to sleep beneath her cover. It had worked well enough, but the second night he was going to try it, she had come home, run up to her room and not even opened the door when he scratched his paw against it.

The doorbell rang, and then Amarante popped up in the door opening. "Sakura, are you ready?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Yeah," Sakura said. She grabbed her purse, and for the thousand time she checked her phone, to see if she had gotten any messages or calls.

"He's still not called you?" her cousin asked with a worried frown.

"No," she put on her boots, and walked out to the car that was parked just outside their lawn. The snow and ice had melted quickly the last few days, and now it was merely dirty water left in big poodles everywhere.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," Sasori said, and accepted the kiss she offered in greeting from the backseat, "you look good."

"Thank you, Sasori-nii-chan," she smiled, and straightened the green kimono she was wearing. She fixed the black obi belt to not ruin the ribbon on the back when she fastened her seatbelt. Amarante jumped in next to her, smiling.

"It's been a long time it's just been the three of us," she said, thinking back, "Shisui has always been so persistent on joining me on everything I got to, so I guess it's haven't been since he and I got together. That makes… four years. Oh my, have we been dating for so long?"

"Without getting married? Yes," Sasori teased from the front seat.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Sasori," the girls said in choir, like they used to when they were younger, and he was a sarcastic and bossy teenager.

"I have a feeling he will pop the question any day now though," he said, "I think he feels that he has to be one step ahead of Itachi all the time, and when Itachi has…Sakura as _girlfriend_," wow, that was hard for him to say without breaking the wheel, "Shisui think that the next step is marriage, and then babies."

"Sasori!" she blushed, and tried to hide her cheeks by awkwardly holding up her fan in front of her face.

"It's true, Amarante," Sakura smiled, giving thumbs up.

"Oh stop it you two! You always tease me!" she frowned.

"You're too naïve, that's why you think we simply tease you," the redhead looked at them through the mirror.

"I'm not naïve!"

"Oh please, who was it that nearly got kidnapped at the age of fourteen?" he shook his head, sighing angrily at the memory.

"I was lost and they said they were going to take me to the exit!" she protested, trying to sound angry, but was somewhat aware of her own mistake.

"Let's not talk about that! Come on, we're going to celebrate New year!" Sakura said with an awkward laugh, trying to ease the sudden tension.

"Yes, but we will take the first prayer tomorrow morning, My and Shisui told me they wanted to join, and since they're both working late tonight…" the driver trailed off.

"Sasori-nii-chan! Look at this doll! Didn't you have one like this when we were small?" Amarante asked and pointed at the puppet that was placed as a price for the shooting game.

"Correction, I still have. You seem to constantly forget I spend most of my time polishing my puppetry skills, Ama-chan," the redhead said and eyed the female version of the same doll, debating with himself if he should throw some money on a game he knew he wouldn't have any problem with winning. Could that be seen as cheating? He was, after all, specially trained with guns, so using his skills would be very unfair to whatever child that could barely see the targets but still wanted that doll.

Sakura sniffed the air as her cousin unfocusedly told them to stay put and wait for him to finish the five shots he was given. She smiled at the aroma of candy apples and dango dipped in chocolate (how she knew it was chocolate dipped dango? It was a sign right in front of her). Her gaze flew between the many faces by the many stalls, older women and men walking with small kids, presumably their grandchildren, parents with their little babies, couples walking hand in hand…

Her eyes darkened, once again reminded of her own miserable position after two glorious hours forgetting about it. She gave a young pair a death glare, which they were to busy to notice. She grumbled inaudible complaints and curses while looking down on the ground. She kicked the dirt slightly with her boots wondering whether she would ever be able to walk down the street with him. So far, he had been careful to not go out on a date with her, aside from that one dinner a while ago. But he was an official person, and being together with just anyone wouldn't do.

She frowned at where her thoughts were going, cause if there was anyone to blame about it, it wasn't her. With a sigh she turned to Amarante, "hey, Ama-

She quickly shut her mouth when she saw that beside her there was no purple haired woman. Somehow, in her head, she was lining the outline of where her cousin should've been standing, just like in a manga. She looked around her, utterly confused to see both her relatives gone, which was hard to believe, because Sasori would _never _let her out of sight of both of them in this kind of place.

And even if she was supposed to stay at the same place she figured they couldn't have gotten far, and started down the road in search for them. Children played in delight around her, and older people was smiling nostalgically. She went around, feeling like a lost kid. With a deep sigh she stopped and dug through her purse, taking up her phone and flipping it open. Her eyes widened as the screen lit up, telling her she had one missed call. The katakana read 'Itachi'.

She quickly ran to the side of the road, and tried to find some way behind the stalls. Just when she got out onto the dark grass her phone went off again, and she answered without hesitation. "M-mochi, mochi?" she squealed, excitement making her body shake.

"_Sakura? Where the hell are you?"_ it was Sasori, and he sounded outraged.

"I'm…uh…I don't really know where I am, but I went out behind the stalls to make a call…" she almost lost her strength to stand when she realized that it was not her boyfriend on the other side of the line.

"Behind_ the stalls? Sakura, you get yourself into some light up place right now or I'll make sure you'll be grounded for a year!" _he hissed angrily.

"Alright, no need to be so bitchy about it…" she growled, walking back to the festival.

"_Excuse me?" _he sure didn't like her tone, and made it clear to her.

"There, I'm out now!" she spit back.

"_Stay where you are, we'll come and get you, Saku-chan,"_ Amarante had obviously stolen the phone, since she was talking.

"Ok, I'm by a fish n' chips stand," without telling them goodbye, she closed the phone, abruptly cutting their conversation off. But she immediately re-opened it, opening her list of numbers, scrolling down to Itachi's name. She approved the call and put the speaker to her ear, and waited impatiently for him to pick up. The call had only been ten minutes ago, so he should have the time for a short talk. Her heart worked overtime, and she was sure he would be able to hear her heartbeat once he answered.

"_Mochi, mochi?"_ she gulped at the dark tone, that was surely not the one her significant other had left with.

"Um…it's Sakura," she stammered, "Fugaku-sama?"

"_Yes. Do you wish to talk to Itachi?" _his brisk way of speaking had always been he same.

"Yes, he called me just now," she smiled.

"_I am sorry to tell you he just went out to join the party being held at our hotel, I was about to join him,"_ he didn't sound like he was eager to take part in the festivities.

"Oh…Could you ask him to call me as soon as possible?" the disappointment was so blatantly obvious.

"_I will tell him," _Fugaku saw that as the end of their conversation and cut the line, leaving her to herself.

She frowned, and kicked an empty can laying by her feet. It hit the calf of a young man in her age that was walking by. He gave an irritated and surprised look, but the disgruntlement disappeared when he saw exactly who had caused the minor inconvenience. He turned and gave his friend a cocky smirk, before approaching her. "It's rude to kick cans at people, pinky."

"It's rude to call people whom you are not familiar with by a nickname," she sneered, "besides, I didn't mean to kick it at someone."

"I am no 'somebody', pinky," he reminded her of that fish like man who was Itachi's friend, he also called her by that nickname, and he had the same sort of toothy grin. "Does the name Hoshina ring any bells?"

She frowned, barely resisting the urge to hit him senseless. "Actually, no," she growled.

"So you have never heard the name of the famous politician Hoshina Gin? Then you must be an undereducated little bitch," he made a move to grab her, but his hand was stopped by another. She turned to look at her cousin, only that it wasn't him.

Instead of the redhead, a man with dark brown hair and blue, glistening eyes was frowning at the offender. "You should never raise you hand against a lady," he said, releasing the other young man when he struggled.

"This has nothing to do with _you_, damned lecher!" the accused man made no move to deny, but gave a glare.

"That's not a nice thing to say, _Pachin-san_," the tone was cold, and the one obviously named Pachin (the name reminded her of her teachers infamous favorite pet dog) backed off.

"Whatever," he said and threw glares at both him and the 'innocent' spectator.

After making sure the rude boys walked away the brown haired man turned to her, "I hope you're not hurt or shaken by this incident."

"Um…no, not very," Sakura breathed out.

"I'm glad," a wide grin, "I'm Otomiya Haruhi, nice to meet you."

"Ah! I'm sorry for my bad manners!" she took a step back and bowed, "I'm Haruno Sakura, thank you for helping me out!"

"No problem, I'd take care of those guys any day," he grinned again.

"Do you go to the same school?"

"Yeah, and even worse, same class!" he laughed and scratched his chin.

"Oh, I see. What school do you attend to?" she asked.

"Gukiyagi high, second year," he said and asked her the same.

"I go to Konoha high," she said, shying at the strange look he gave her.

"Really? Wow, that's impressive, not just anyone can get in there! Is it true that every student get their own special teacher?" he was eagerly on her, cross-examination her about the life on a top school. At first, she was uncomfortable in his presence, finding him strangely imposing, but after a few minutes of lively chatter she found him as pleasant as a cat. They complained about traffic, praised food and disagreed on whether animals had feelings or not. But mostly they laughed, and moved out of the way for people walking past.

She didn't know how long time had passed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned immediately, and saw brown eyes watching the male she had been socializing with critically. "Come on Sakura, it's getting late," his voice dropped the temperature by an x amount of degrees, "you don't want to keep your friend away from his companions during the firework display, do you?"

"Is he your boyfriend or what?" Haruhi asked.

"No, he's overseas for a while," she forced a smile, "this is my cousin, Sa-

"Let's go," Sasori didn't excuse himself, he simply dragged her away, towards Amarante.

"Hey, Sasori-nii-chan! That's rude!" she protested angrily, pulling at her arm.

He didn't say anything, just continued to drag her along until they met up with their other cousin. "There you are, Saku-chan!" Amarante sounded relieved beyond belief, "but what happened, Sasori-nii-chan? You look like you just bit a lemon."

He gave an annoyed glare, before letting go of his younger relative. "Let's go and get ourselves a place to watch the display," he said.

Without protest, they followed him, not wanting to anger him further. They pressed past the other festival visitors, hurrying to the river side before too many got there. The area was lit with traditional lantern lights, but where probably bulbs hidden inside the paper case, for safety reasons. They found an empty bench, annoying a young couple who had been heading for the same area to rest their legs at and have a make out session.

They sat in silence, looking out over the river, seeing the lights of Tokyo glistering on the surface. Soon, the screeching sound of fireworks going off echoed over the water, and the sky was drenched in light for a short second before fading in sad little dusts of glitter.

Sakura found herself philosophy at the sight. Her life had been speeding upwards for a short while, then, it had exploded into something beautiful. But it had disappeared the next moment, leaving her stunned by the sudden flash and deaf by the loud bang.

Right now, she had to hope there would be another piece being sent up in the sky.

I'm so sorry it took so long for an update :( I had some trouble with the beta reading, and I've been depressed the latest few months...

But anyway! I'm back on track, with the next chapter half finished, so I hope I can have it up by the end of the month ^^


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